No topic within the doctrine of creation has been more unsettled by modern science than theological anthropology. Increased knowledge of the physical world has raised new difficulties for traditional views of the human person—are human minds as separable from the body as previous ages believed? Is belief in an immaterial soul scientifically naïve? More recently,…

The Henry Center is pleased to announce Benjamin Parks as the winner of the 2017–18 Brown Award for Student Scholarship. The Brown Award is one of the six initiatives of the Creation Project, and was created to encourage graduate-level research at the intersection of science and the doctrine of creation. Parks’ essay, “From the Waters…

It has been a common (though not universal) assumption in the history of Christian thought that humans were created immortal, and only lost their immortality with the entrance of death as the consequence for sin. This is, however, a misreading of the biblical data, which suggests that humans were created mortal with the possibility of…

We were once immortal. Not that we possessed the independent or self-generated ability to live forever. Only the triune God enjoys that honor. As human creatures, we are always dependent on God—in him we live and move and have our being. If not for his providential hand, our lives would be snuffed out in a…

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…

I’m thankful for the opportunity to participate in this series about the Cabal and Rasor book, Controversy of the Ages. I agreed to the assignment having had no previous knowledge of the book. But I had met Ted Cabal at one of the private meetings with BioLogos, Reasons to Believe, and Southern Baptist seminary professors…

I am grateful that our book, Adam and the Genome, was selected by the Creation Project for this discussion. This is a timely issue for the church that affects both our witness to those outside our communities whom we long to reach with the gospel, and for those among us who have come to accept…

Becoming reasonably conversant with contemporary developments and bringing biblical teaching to bear on commonplace assumptions is a perennial challenge for thoughtful Christians. One of the more pressing questions the church now confronts is a perceived conflict between the findings of the Human Genome Project and the Christian tradition regarding the common origin of humanity in…

Genesis 2:7 states, “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” But what does “the breath of life” refer to? Is it the Holy Spirit? Is it a life force? Is it a human soul?…

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…

Is ‘ādām unclean, trampled ‘ādāmāh? Can ‘ādām be re-formed, given New Life? In the Toy Story trilogy, being marked by Andy’s name not only changes how his toys see themselves but how they see toys who are not Andy’s. At first, Buzz and Woody are terrified by Sid’s warped and misfit toys—a doll’s head on spider…

Since Vatican II most celebrants—Catholic and Protestant — no longer “turn their back” to the congregation (that is, turn to the east) during the words of institution. This act never had to do with the priest turning away from the people; rather, the point of it was to turn toward Christ’s anticipated Parousia (that is,…