Scripture affirms that Jesus is the temple—the place where God and humans meet is Jesus (John 1:14; 2:22). But that presents a number of challenges for us. In the first place, how can a person be a temple? In the second place, why does it matter if Jesus is the temple? What is the significance of all of this?
To sketch an answer, we need to study the scriptures because they provide a profound answer to all these questions. [Read more…] about How Is Jesus the Temple?
What Is Sex?
I want to define something that at one level is quite simple yet at another level can be hard to grasp. I want to define sex. No, not that kind of sex. I mean male and female—sex. Gender, in our modern discourse, often refers to the accidental and sometimes wished-for properties of humans. Sex, however, points to a concrete reality on the basis of biological and metaphysical norms for males and females. [Read more…] about What Is Sex?
Will We Remember Our Life in Heaven? Even the Trauma?
Imagine entering into heaven. Joy fills your soul. But you see some object that triggers a traumatic memory from your life. What happens to that joy now? Or say you had lived a life without trauma, yet your loved one did not share your faith. Can you rightly enjoy heaven when your spouse, child, or loved one perdures in eternal perdition?
Could we really call it heaven if we experience memories of trauma or grief over loved ones who do not reside with us? Since God does not delight in the death even of the wicked (Ezek 18:23; 33:11) and desires all to be saved (2 Pet 3:9), would we not be right to lament the suffering of our loved ones—even in heaven?
At the heart of these questions lies the concept of memory and what happens to our memory in heaven. [Read more…] about Will We Remember Our Life in Heaven? Even the Trauma?
Is Hell Forever?
Universalism is making a come back. In an age of tolerance and social-morality, the idea that God might condemn many to eternal perdition seems immoral and outrageous. Yet Scripture claims that our eternal destiny has its endpoint either in everlasting heaven or everlasting hell (e.g., Rev 20:10).
We need to be realistic about our claims here. If sins that we commit in life merit our eternal perdition and not just temporal purgation, we must ask why this is. When we answer that question, then the eternality of hell becomes easier to understand. [Read more…] about Is Hell Forever?
Does The New Testament Reinterpret the Old Testament?
Does the New Testament reinterpret the Old Testament? No. Instead, the New Testament and specifically the Holy Spirit through the New Testament writings reveals the real meaning of the Old Testament. By using the word “reveal,” I mean the more technical sense of apocalypse—an unveiling or revelation.*
Here are a couple reasons why I argue that the Spirit unveils the meaning of the Old Testament. [Read more…] about Does The New Testament Reinterpret the Old Testament?
Are There Metaphysical Foundations for Physical and Biological Science? (Review of Ed Feser’s Aristotle’s Revenge)
Philosopher Ed Feser wrote Aristotle’s Revenge to show that metaphysics complements modern science rather than becoming obsolete due to it. In fact, modern science presupposes, argues Feser, metaphysics.
Did he succeed? Largely. Could he have improved his argument? Probably. Let me first describe scholastic metaphysics before highlighting some of Feser’s major arguments. I will recommend Aristotle’s Revenge with some caveats at the conclusion. [Read more…] about Are There Metaphysical Foundations for Physical and Biological Science? (Review of Ed Feser’s Aristotle’s Revenge)