Human Persons: Bodies, Souls, and Emergentism

“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.” Almost hidden within the Genesis creation account stands this singular sentence about God’s creation of humankind. Revealed is God’s creative act; implied is the dual nature of…
How Should We Understand Miracles?

A protégé of Elisha witnessed an axe head floating in water (2 Kgs 6:1–7). On Mount Carmel, Elijah trounced the prophets of Baal in a breathtaking display of Yahweh’s omnipotence (1 Kgs 18). God fed the nomadic Israelites with manna at dawn, quail at dusk. “Then you will know that I am the LORD your…
Divine Action and the Human Mind: A Rejoinder

One of the joys of inhabiting an explicitly interdisciplinary space is that one is constantly challenged and stimulated by ideas, critiques, and voices that collectively defy easy conceptual or disciplinary categorization. I consider myself extremely fortunate to exist in such a space, addressing theological questions by drawing upon scholarship not only from specific faith traditions,…
On the Very Idea of Theological Naturalism

Sarah Lane Ritchie’s Divine Action and the Human Mind is a well-written treatise advocating for a robust theistic naturalism that affirms God’s active presence not only in the human mind, but throughout the natural world. Let’s clarify her terminology since, on the surface, it would seem that “theistic naturalism” is an oxymoron. The standard philosophical…
What Do We Understand by Special Providence?

In response to my first essay, Hans asked whether there is a special category of God’s way of interacting with the world known as ‘special providence?’ It is hard to know exactly what this means. The biblical literature clearly knows of ‘miracles,’ without which there would be no Christian faith. Three words in particular are used…
Carl F. H. Henry on Human Nature: Top 10 Lectures & Sermons

Much of Carl F. H. Henry’s moral sense was driven by his view of humanity. Whether it was discussing bioethical issues or his opposition to communism or anything else, his objection was often rooted in the biblical emphasis that human beings are created in the image of God. People were not merely the sum of their…
Birkett and Moucarry CCI Articles

The Henry Center is pleased to announce the release of two important articles that cover apologetic topics relative to religious and intellectual challenges of the current day. “I Believe in Nature: An Exploration of Naturalism and the Biblical Worldview” by Kirsten Birkett is now available. Birkett teaches pastoral counseling, apologetics, and church history at Oak…