I am grateful to Dennis Venema and Scot McKnight for their work in Adam and the Genome, and I am also thankful for the engagement provided by the scholars who have contributed to this symposium. This conversation is exactly the sort of forthright, well-informed, and charitable discussion that the church needs, and it is just…

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that evangelicals are embroiled in a lively debate about Adam and Eve. On one side are those who insist that Adam and Eve were the first and sole progenitors of the entire human race. The other side cautions against reading too much dogma into Genesis 2-3;…

William Perkins (1558–1602) was an English Puritan theologian who was well known for his exposition of Calvinist teachings and became one of the first English Reformed theologians to achieve international recognition. Reflecting, here, on the fall, he asserts that the first sin was not an isolated act, but rather the culmination of a complex series…

Peter Martyr Vermigli on Genesis 3:1-6 See what he promises to the woman! What did he mean, “Your eyes will be opened”? Were they blind, perchance? Not at all—neither the eyes of her body nor those of her mind. She was not physically blind, else how would she have seen the serpent? How would she have eaten…

Paul’s theology of the cross brings a new element to our discussion of achievement that has potential to invert our whole understanding. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.” Paul is not…

The ‘downward pull,’ an idea that I previously developed, threatens to pull individuals and institutions towards decay and possible destruction if it is not properly recognized and respected in terms of its impact. To limit its damage, nothing short of the grace of God is required, both to maintain vigilance when decay begins creeping into and…

Through the generous support of the Kern Family Foundation’s “Faith, Work, and Economics” program, I have been working on a project called “The Jubilee Summit.” The name originates from the same categories that provide the framework and topical treatments of my present Sapientia series, namely, “God, Image-Flourishing, and Jubilee.” This past weekend, January 23–24, a group gathered at…

Last week we looked at the book of Proverbs, which basically teaches that, all things being equal, if you live according to wisdom everything will work out. However, the wisdom literature of the Old Testament contains its own counterbalance to the optimism of Proverbs. Job teaches that it’s not as simple as that—things can go…

Over the last three weeks I have explored the biblical accounts of creation and the fall in Genesis 1–3, and their significance for thinking about achievement. This is a natural place to pause and reflect on some more of the literature related to the theme, before pressing forward in the biblical narrative. Andreas Köstenberger’s book,…

When is a human being most Like a human being? To ask this question against the backdrop of the contemporary scene is to entertain some mixed opinions. Human beings are capable of extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice, such as in the cases of doctors, nurses, and other volunteers, who choose to treat those sick with the…

Who gets to define what it means to be human? Harmful attitudes and practices begin and blossom when God’s definition of a human being is ignored, or insufficiently implemented in all areas of life. These areas of existence can range from family, government, work-relationships, even life and ministry in the church. This can climatically extend…

Dr. Cornelius Plantinga, president of Calvin Theological Seminary and author of the award winning book, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Eerdmans, 1995), will be speaking in our Trinity College chapel on March 23, Wednesday, 11am. The title of the lecture is “What is Sin?” This lecture is part of…