Christ the Center

Dr. Bryan Estelle joins us to speak about Echoes of Exodus: Tracing a Biblical Motif (IVP Academic, 2018). Israel’s exodus from Egypt is the Bible’s enduring emblem of deliverance. It is the archetypal anvil on which the scriptural language of deliverance is shaped. More than just an epic moment, the exodus shapes the telling of Israel’s and the church’s gospel. Estelle traces the motif as it unfo...

We turn to pages 230–233 of Vos’s book,  Biblical Theology , to speak about the mode by which the Lord delivers his message to the prophet. Man is made in the image of God, which means he has a special capacity to commune with God. Vos marvels at the way in which divine speech is transmitted to those made in his image. God’s word is communicated in servant form without evacuating the me...

Dr. S. M. Baugh joins us to speak about his book, The Majesty on High: An Introduction to the Kingdom of God in the New Testament . Beginning with a definition of the kingdom of God based on the new creation, Baugh introduces the reader to the kingdom and its foundational issues. Dr. Baugh is professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido, California. He is also the aut...

Dr. A. Craig Troxel speaks about With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires, and Will toward Christ (Crossway, 2020). Whereas contemporary culture identifies the “heart” with feelings and emotions, Craig Troxel speaks about the range of uses of the word “heart” in the Bible. The heart knows, desires, and chooses. This fuller conception of “heart” helps us...

David VanDrunen speaks about his forthcoming book, Politics After Christendom (Zondervan Academic), reflecting upon the status and responsibilities of Christians in their contemporary pluralistic political communities. Dr. VanDrunen presents a biblical-theological model of political engagement and exploring themes such as race, religious liberty, justice, authority, and civil resistance. David Van...

We take a brief break from our regular schedule in Geerhardus Vos’s book, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments , to discuss Vos’s sermon “Rabboni,” on John 20:16. This sermon is found in Grace & Glory , a collection of Vos’s sermons preached at the chapel of Princeton Seminary. John 20:1–18 (ESV) Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tom...

Dr. Jordan J. Ballor, senior research fellow and director of publishing for the Acton Institute , joins us to speak about Abraham Kuyper’s public theology. Dr. Ballor is a general editor of Abraham Kuyper’s Collected Works on Public Theology published by Lexham Press . Kuyper was something of a polymath/renaissance man. Along with being an influential theologian and also a journalist,...

Matthew Patton speaks about his book, Basics of Hebrew Discourse: A Guide to Working with Hebrew Prose and Poetry (Zondervan Academic, 2019). Dr. Patton is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Vandalia, Ohio. This book, written by Matthew H. Patton, Frederic Clarke Putnam, and Miles V. Van Pelt, is a syntax resource for intermediate Hebrew students. This Basics book introduces students...

Carlton Wynne and Charles Williams speak about the new edition of Herman Bavinck’s The Wonderful Works of God published by Westminster Seminary Press. The book was first published in English under the title, Our Reasonable Faith . The new edition is re-typeset and includes an introduction by Dr. Wynne, Bavinck’s original introduction translated by Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, and helpful in...

Shawn Ritenour, Professor of Economics at Grove City College, speaks about the basics of economics and the Christian principles upon which the study must be based. Dr. Ritenour is the author of Foundations of Economics: A Christian View (Wipf & Stock). Participants: Camden Bucey , Jeff Waddington , Shawn Ritenour

We turn to pages 224–229 of Vos’s book,  Biblical Theology , to speak about the intra-mental state of the prophet, by which Vos means to inquire into “how the soul felt and reacted under the things shown within the vision” (p. 224). Far too much attention has been given to what is represented by the Greek term ecstasis . The term served first as a translation of the Hebrew tardemah (cf. Gen....

Since Christ the Center began nearly twelve years ago, we have taken time to look back on the highlights of the year. Given that we now post highlights from each episode every week we have taken an analytic approach. These are this year’s top ten clips from Christ the Center as determined by YouTube views. Episode 614 — Bracy Hill, Nimrod, the Mighty Hunter Episode 600 — Glen Clary, Praying...

David Woollin of Reformation Heritage Books and Matthew Robinson of Media Gratiae discuss Puritan: All of Life to the Glory of God . Centered around a feature-length film, the full box set includes books, thirty-five Sunday school lessons, and other resources for education. Participants: Camden Bucey , David Woollin , Jeff Waddington , Matthew Robinson

In this episode, we turn to pages 220–223 of Vos’s book,  Biblical Theology , to discuss the reception of divine revelation through showing and seeing. The prophets were given visions and heard the Lord and angelic beings speaking to them audibly. We explore the significance of this fact with regard to our understanding of God’s progressive revelation in history. Participants: Camden Bucey ,...

Jeff Waddington, Glen Clary, and Lane Tipton speak with Camden Bucey about his book, Karl Rahner , and contemporary issues regarding Rahner, modern Roman Catholicism, and contemporary theology. Arguably the most influential Catholic theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Rahner (1904–1984) developed a theology that has influenced much of post-Vatican II Catholicism and its modern inclusivist ap...

James Eglinton, Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, and Cory Brock speak about Herman Bavinck’s book, Christian Worldview . Sutanto, Eglinton, and Brock together have translated and edited this work and Crossway has brought it to print for the first time in English. In the book, Herman Bavinck deals with pastoral concerns that arose within a culture that exchanged modernistic certainty for an appreciati...

Carl Trueman joins us to speak about Socinianism, a non-Trinitarian system of doctrine that arose out of the Radical Reformation and developed in Poland during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was named for the Italian uncle/nephew tandem of Lelio and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Socinus). While the label is not commonly used in our current historical context, Socinianism developed into contemporary Unit...

Healthy churches have healthy elders and deacons. When a local congregation is blessed with faithful officers the results are bountiful (Acts 6:7). William Boekestein and Steven Swets speak about ordained ministry in its manifold dimensions. Boekestein and Swets have edited, Faithful and Fruitful: Essays for Elders and Deacons ( Reformed Fellowship ), which provides current and future church leade...

Christianity is based in history. Contrary to the teaching of classic liberalism, without the historical fact of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, Christianity is nothing. Moreover, God has been working in the lives of his people from the very beginning. It is essential that the church would remember God’s dealings with the generations that have gone before in order that she woul...

Lane Tipton speaks about his recent conference addresses and his newly available video course, Foundations of Covenant Theology . In this conversation, we seek to address the question of the Spiritual character of the law as an administration of the Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament and set the priority for the history of heaven as a frame of reference for understanding covenant theology in g...

Glen Clary and Camden Bucey speak about their addresses at the recent theology conference. Glen covered the topic of ascending the mountain of the Lord and the role of the tabernacle and sacrificial system in the Sinai Covenant. Camden compared Galatians 2–4 with Romans 7–8 in order to address Paul’s phrase that “the law is Spiritual” in Romans 7:14. Participants: Camden Bucey ,...

Dr. Alan Strange discusses the Westminster Assembly and the Westminster Standards and whether they affirmed the imputation of Christ’s active obedience as necessary for our justification. Strange has written, The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards , which is published by Reformation Heritage Books in their Explorations in Reformed Confessional Theology...

Todd M. Rester speaks about the theology of Petrus Van Mastricht (1630–1706). Dr. Rester has served as a translator of Mastricht’s Theoretical-Practical Theology , which is being published by Reformation Heritage Books and edited by Dr. Joel Beeke. As of this interview, the first two volumes (Prolegomena and Faith in the Triune God) are available. Mastricht presents a theological method part...

Dr. Bracy V. Hill , senior lecturer in history at Baylor University, speaks about Christian perspectives on sport hunting. While hunting isn’t the first thing on the minds of biblical scholars, hunting is mentioned and used in numerous metaphors throughout Scripture. One particularly mysterious account is that of Nimrod in Genesis 10. Moreover, the activity of hunting raises many important t...

Will Wood discusses various approaches to higher criticism, including source, form, and redaction criticism. This conversation dives into a topic that was covered briefly in an episode on the authorship of Isaiah . Biblical higher criticism demonstrates several presuppositions that are contrary to orthodox understandings of history and the Bible. For example, predictive prophecy cannot exist. As a...