A great and godly servant has gone to glory. James Inell Packer knew how to serve his risen Lord through both the spoken and written word, and also through sage advice shared with others. He taught in theological colleges in both Britain and Canada. This British born, Oxford D.Phil. was a church scholar rather than…

When I requested the first two volumes of William J. Abraham’s Divine Agency and Divine Action tetralogy (Oxford University Press, 2017­–), I must admit I did not expect them to shape my thoughts on divine action and, by extension, providence quite so much as they have. Before reading Abraham’s fine work, I accepted without question…

I wish to thank my fellow symposiasts for their careful and generous reading of my book. Their criticisms have enabled me to think further about its central themes, historical perspectives, and argumentative moves. In what follows, I offer some further musings which I hope are neither too defensive nor inconsistent with the published material. At…

“As God’s authoritative word, Scripture is normative for all of life, including science.” So says Craig Bartholomew, a member of the 2019–2020 Henry Resident Fellowship community. In today’s climate, these are fighting words—resulting in more heat than light. When we hear this sentiment from Bartholomew, however, it means something quite different. First, and most basically,…

As our Reformation Commentary feature nears the end of the Historical Books series, Sapientia asked Derek Cooper and Martin Lohrmann, editors of our source volume, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles (published by InterVarsity in April), a few questions about working on the project. Martin Lohrmann, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Lutheran Confessions and Heritage at Wartburg Theological Seminary….

Sapientia, in conjunction with InterVarsity Press, has been excerpting from the Reformation Commentary on Scripture volumes to provide readers with insight into the fascinating diversity of voices—some available for the first time in English—responsible for changing the course of historical Christianity during the movement we call the Reformation. In light of the recent publication of…

Nollywood, the Nigerian version of Hollywood of the US and the Bollywood of India, is the largest  movie industry in Africa. In 2009 Nollywood produced 872 films while the United States Hollywood produced 485 major films. Though they are usually cheap and of poor quality, these movie videos are one of the most powerful promoters…

The four educators highlighted in my last post all ground their theories of experiential learning in a philosophy called constructivism.  What is constructivism?  Is it compatible with Christianity? What follows are my in-progress ruminations on these questions.  By no means have I found definitive answers.  Regardless, I continue to think about these issues because they…

In a recent post, I gave a brief biographical sketch of Carl Henry, who had lent his name to the Henry Center.  Following  the 100th anniversary of his birth, now is a good time to discuss Henry’s theological legacy.  A 1986 profile of Henry in Moody Monthly magazine declared him “a theological mind second to…

Oh seminary student, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So we are told in the inspired words of Hebrews 10:31. Those who do not know Christ are well advised to pay attention to the counsel of Holy Scripture. Even Christian lay people should be reminded on a…

Ryan Harding, MDiv student and Henry Center intern ***** One of the most profitable disciplines for me in seminary has been the study of church history. Hearing of the pastoral hearts of the early church fathers, the careful thought of the apologists, and the unflinching courage of the martyrs has been edifying, inspiring, and humbling….

Zachary Albanese, MA student and Henry Center intern ***** The Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding has a certain allure.  Is it the title?  The mysterious F. H. that sits in the middle?  This might be a plausible reason as to why some are drawn to the Henry Center, but it is not…