The ancient Greek philosopher Thales believed, at least according to Aristotle, that everything is water. More precisely, he believed that water was the material principle underlying all things—“that of which all things consist, from which they first come and into which on their destruction they are ultimately resolved.” His rationale for this belief isn’t as…

Ralph Stearley placed his trust in Jesus Christ during the mid-1970s, in the midst of his college years at University of Missouri and his studies in biological anthropology. Stearley, Professor of Geology at Calvin College, is the first natural scientist to be awarded the Henry Resident Fellowship. Like many of Christians in the sciences, his…

A modern maxim has long since taken up residence in most theology departments across the world today: we no longer live in a time where the old, substantival metaphysics remain convincing. If historical-theological accounts of the nineteenth century have taught us anything, it was that each passing theologian sought to outdo the one who had…

Our triune God, in all his perfect self-awareness, revealed himself to his servant Moses as “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). This ontological statement has led Christian theologians throughout the history of the church to understand God as the one who is utterly other, pure act and pure being, perfectly simple, always immutable, necessarily…

“Fruit” and “Genesis” is a juxtaposition with a long and infamous history. It recalls a story passed on from generation to generation, connecting us to our ancestors, for good and for ill. Fruit, in the first instance, is about fruitfulness. Originally, we are told, the earth was luscious and vivacious, teeming with flora and fauna….

Fred Sanders is usually writing about the Trinity. The burden of his 2010 volume The Deep Things of God was to show how the doctrine of the Trinity “inherently belongs to the gospel.” Years earlier he wrote his dissertation on “Rahner’s Rule” and the immanent Trinity. Then there is his 2016 volume in Zondervan’s New Studies…

James Hoffmeier is stepping away from his lecture podium and beginning retirement—at least for the summer. This fall he will be joining a group of six other scholars in residence with the Creation Project for the 2018–19 academic year. The working title of the project is “Why We Believe in Creation and Evolution: A Discussion…

  “Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.” Psalm 10:17–18   Stop Child Witch Accusations (SCWA) was formed in 2012 and is a coalition of predominantly Christian,…

“If we fail to hold together the mediation of salvation and that of creation,” wrote Colin Gunton some years ago, “we risk a reversion to [Gnosticism].” One could say the entirety of the Henry Center’s Creation Project strives to maintain that very balance. Nathan Chambers, who joins the Creation Project in its second year as…

In Adam’s fall we sinned all. In spite of what this well-known pithy summary of the Christian doctrine of original sin might suggest, things are a bit more complicated. Daniel Houck will be joining the Creation Project in the second year as a research fellow to explore how the thought of Thomas Aquinas provides helpful…

Among the more interesting and less appreciated developments of modern scientific society is the emergence of a new genre of literature: science fiction. While the works may be fictive, they should not be understood as mere entertainment. Indeed, they represent a kind of eschatological—and often apocalyptic—imagination, one inseparably tied to an important element of our…

Gavin Ortlund joins the Creation Project after recently earning a PhD in historical theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. His dissertation, which will soon be published by Brill, is titled “Ascending Toward the Beatific Vision: Heaven as the Climax of Anselm’s Proslogion” and focuses on St. Anselm’s doctrine of heaven in the Proslogion. As one might guess from…