International Journal of Systematic Theology最新文献

Though Calvin is averse to theological speculation, he is the first to claim that Christ is Mediator and Head of Angels. This often-overlooked office is present consistently throughout the various editions of the Institutes and can be found in his treatises, commentaries, catechism, and various sermons. This paper argues that Christ's mediation of angels is a form of ontological mediation that serves as the logical foundation for his redemptive mediation of the Elect. Sin is an intensification of a preexisting problem that requires the Son to be the medius and Mediator between God and creation because of his unique position in the Trinitarian taxis as the begotten one. This overlooked office places Calvin's theology of mediation in a greater cosmic context where the triune God is uniting all things to himself typified in the angels and the Elect.

This article explores the way in which two modern Reformed theologians, Charles Hodge and Herman Bavinck, articulate their theologies of divine incomprehensibility and the knowability of God in radically different ways, against the backdrop of post-Kantian epistemology. This contrast will draw attention to why the doctrine of divine incomprehensibility has diminished in influence in modern Reformed theology, while also making some suggestions as to how it can be retrieved in order to supplement and strengthen contemporary discussions on the doctrine of God in the Reformed tradition.

The life-giving power of Christ's flesh and the unique efficacy of his atoning death is grounded in the fact that the flesh belongs to a divine person, the eternal Word. The previous article critiqued an attempt to explain the life-giving power of Christ's flesh by way of a divine suffering on the cross and instead sought to ground the efficacy of Christ's atoning death in the proper and instrumental power of Christ's humanity. This second article argues that the efficacy of Christ's atoning death is grounded also in the infinite worth of the ransom that he pays on the cross. The claim that the infinite worth of Christ's ransom is derived from his deity, which itself does not suffer or die, will be articulated in dialogue with several patristic, medieval, and early modern theologians.

The life-giving power of Christ's flesh and the unique efficacy of his atoning death are grounded in the fact that the flesh belongs to a divine person, the eternal Word. Though some theologians have argued that this should be explained by a divine sort of suffering taking place on the cross, this essay briefly critiques the idea of divine suffering in the atonement and proceeds to offer constructive discussion of other ways in which the life-giving power of Christ's flesh and the efficacy of his atoning death are grounded in his deity. This first requires a consideration of the way in which Christ's humanity is empowered and supported by his deity in his suffering and atoning death, which will be articulated in dialogue with several patristic, medieval, and early modern theologians. A second essay will then elaborate further on the relationship between the efficacy of the atonement and the deity of Christ by discussing the way in which the ransom that Christ pays on the cross derives its infinite worth from his deity.

The aim of this essay is to reconsider the way scholarship conceives the role of the devil in early Christian approaches to evil and suffering, using as a case study theological reflection on this theme by Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus. Through a close reading of three texts concerned with the origins of evil, suffering, and the continued presence of the devil on earth after Christ's victory, I propose the devil's existence contributes to the mystery of evil for Basil and Gregory. Put simply, the devil does not serve as a strategy to solve problems of evil and suffering. The devil himself is a problem.

In an effort to correct the alleged ‘christological deficit’ of Thomas Aquinas's theology of the beatific vision, Hans Boersma circumscribes the object of the blessed's vision of God to the humanity of Christ and denies that they immediately see the divine essence. This results in a trinitarian deficit in Boersma's theology. For, as Matthias Scheeben's and Karl Rahner's analyses of Aquinas's theology of the beatific vision demonstrate, the blessed's immediate vision of the divine essence brings them into union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Juan Alfaro's account of how the blessed's vision of the humanity of Christ operates in harmony with their vision of the divine essence provides resources for constructing a thoroughly christological and trinitarian theology of the beatific vision.