Posts by Uche Anizor

Uche Anizor

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Talbot Magazine
Triviality and the Problem of Apathy
Adapted from Overcoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care
Uche Anizor — December 14, 2022
Have you ever been through a long season when it seems your zeal for God has all but vanished? Have you ever experienced a stretch of time in which...
The Good Book Blog
Overcome Apathy by Recommitting to the Basics
Uche Anizor — September 12, 2022
If you’ve ever experienced seasons of feeling fairly indifferent about spiritual things, you may have wondered how you got to that place. While...
Talbot Magazine
Book Excerpt: Fall 2021
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Uche Anizor, Rob Price, Hank Voss — December 06, 2021
The doctrine of the Trinity begins in praise. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” says Paul. Why? Because the Father has...
The Good Book Blog
Where is Jesus in Judges and Ruth?
Uche Anizor, Charlie Trimm — February 08, 2021
Jesus’ statement to the disciples on the road to Emmaus has long provided Christians with a hermeneutical key to reading the Old Testament: “...
Talbot Magazine
Best of the Blog: Fall 2020
Should We Take Communion Remotely?
Uche Anizor, Darian Lockett, Charlie Trimm — December 08, 2020
While seminary graduates frequently express gratitude for their education, most also have a list of items colloquially entitled “Things Seminary...
The Good Book Blog
A Question I Didn't Get Answered in Seminary: Should We Take Communion Remotely?
Uche Anizor, Darian Lockett, Charlie Trimm — April 24, 2020
A few thoughts on virtual communion from different perspectives.
Talbot Magazine
Shelf Life
Recent publications from our very own Talbot faculty.
Uche Anizor, Octavio Esqueda, Erik Thoennes, Markus Zehnder — December 02, 2019
Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology and Mission in a Changing World Erik Thoennes Professor of TheologyEditor & Contributor Moody...
The Good Book Blog
The Compartmentalization Conundrum by Jake Aguas
Biola Faculty on a Theology of Work
Uche Anizor — March 14, 2019
This post stems from the Kern reading group on Faith, Work and Economics at Talbot, a small group comprised of Talbot and Crowell faculty that...
The Good Book Blog
A Theology of Inequality through Jonathan Edwards
Uche Anizor — September 15, 2014
Inequality is not necessarily inequity. Often talk related to disparities in income, opportunities, education, skills—you name it—centers on the issue of justice or equity. However, it may be that justice or injustice has little to do with inequalities. As in all matters, it is helpful to get somewhat of a God’s eye view on this rather easily misunderstood issue. What I’d like to do is briefly draw attention to one strand of biblical teaching worth considering as we discuss matters of inequality. I’ll do this with the help of Edwards and his eschatology.
The Good Book Blog
Where Should Theology “Begin”?
Uche Anizor — June 18, 2012
As one who is kind of obsessed with questions of method in theology, I found some summary comments by T. F. Torrance on the relation of history and tradition to theological formulation helpful. He writes: No scientist ever begins his work de novo; while he works with the methodological questioning of what he has already known he builds on knowledge already achieved and engages in a movement of advance. But it is one of the worst characteristics of theological study, whether in biblical interpretation or in dogmatic formulation, that every scholar nowadays thinks he must start all over again, and too many give the impression that no one ever understood this or that until they came along.
The Good Book Blog
Seven Brief Thoughts on the Doctrine of Scripture
Uche Anizor — May 15, 2012
After a semester of teaching an undergrad course on Scripture and Tradition, a number of things emerged in our discussions that might be worth reflecting on regarding the Bible and its interpretation.
The Good Book Blog
What is Systematic Theology Really?
Uche Anizor — March 05, 2012
Check out this excellent and thought provoking post by theologian Stephen Holmes from St. Andrews. Read the post here
The Good Book Blog
Bavinck on Scripture, Tradition, and Theology
Uche Anizor — February 23, 2012
Herman Bavinck helpfully (as usual) comments on a proper way to understand “tradition” and its relationship to Scripture and theology: “[F]or a correct understanding [of the Bible] it still often requires a wide range of historical, archaeological, and geographical skills and information. The times have changed, and with the times people, their life, thought, and feelings, have changed. Therefore, a tradition is needed that preserves the connectedness between Scripture and the religious life of our time. Tradition in its proper sense is the interpretation and application of the eternal truth in the vernacular and life of the present generation. Scripture without such a tradition is impossible . . ."
The Good Book Blog
Patristic vs. Modern Trinitarianism
Uche Anizor — February 16, 2012
Mark Thompson of Moore College offers some helpful observations regarding the difference between patristic and modern treatments of the Trinity. Here's an excerpt: Patristic trinitarian thinking and writing appears more overtly biblical, and specifically more exegetical, than much modern writing. Sometimes that exegetical work is tortuous and repetitive, as in some of Athanasius' orations against the Arians. Sometimes it is crisp and leaves important questions unanswered. Yet the Bible is in the foreground rather than in the background in many of the patristic treatments of the doctrine. In contrast, much of the modern discussion glances off the Bible and shies away from sustained exegetical comment.
The Good Book Blog
Union with Christ and Social Justice
Uche Anizor — February 09, 2012
Does our union with Christ have anything to say about Christian social justice? Todd Billings in chapter 4 of Union with Christ makes this vital connection
The Good Book Blog
Union with Christ and TULIP
Uche Anizor — January 26, 2012
In the second chapter of Billings’ Union with Christ, he takes issue with the reduction of Reformed theology to the TULIP acronym. Specifically, regarding “total depravity” he questions the notion that one can properly understand a Reformed (or biblical) doctrine of depravity within the limited scope of the so-called “five points.”
The Good Book Blog
The “Theological Interpretation of Scripture”
Uche Anizor — October 22, 2011
A question I receive repeatedly, and a good one at that, is: “What is the theological interpretation of Scripture?” If you’ve heard this phrase bandied about and are still not sure what it means, you’re certainly not alone. There aren’t many concise and clear definitions of it, though there are a number of descriptive accounts.
The Good Book Blog
Calvin and Conviction
Uche Anizor — September 03, 2011
One thing that has struck my students in their initial interactions with the Institutes is how different Calvin sounds than much theology and God-talk today. The difference, I think, lies in his conviction of the truth and weightiness of what he writes. He is confident, earnest, and forthright in a way that makes a twenty-first century reader feel uncomfortable.
The Good Book Blog
Don’t Read the Bible by Itself
Uche Anizor — August 27, 2011
In the preface to the 1539 Edition of the Institutes, Calvin explains the purpose of the Institutes and in doing so offers good counsel regarding the need for theology in reading Scripture well
The Good Book Blog
Commands Are Like Bricks
Uche Anizor — August 20, 2011
Speaking about moral codes and laws, Oliver O’Donovan (Resurrection and Moral Order, 2nd ed.) says something helpful about how we use the Bible to make moral decisions. Speaking generally of the relationship between individual moral commands and the overall moral law, he writes first: The items in a [moral] code stand to the moral law as bricks to a building. Wisdom must involve some comprehension of how the bricks are meant to be put together.
The Good Book Blog
Rembrandt and the Humanity of Christ
Uche Anizor — August 19, 2011
The Aug 15th issue of TIME magazine has a short piece on Rembrandt and his portraits of Christ. According to the writer, Richard Lacayo, Rembrandt in his early 40s began to evolve in the way he depicted Christ, changing from "turbulent scenes in the Gospel, full of sharp light and emphatic gestures, to smaller, contemplative groupings.” This shift in artistic emphasis represented a more profound concern in the artist
The Good Book Blog
On Making Eschatological Arguments
Uche Anizor — August 12, 2011
After many years of foolishly putting it off, I am finally reading Oliver O’Donovan’s classic primer on Christian ethics, Resurrection and Moral Order (2nd ed.). One of the book’s major claims is that the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate reaffirmation of the created order.
The Good Book Blog
Reading Less Conservative or “Contrary” Theologians
Uche Anizor — August 11, 2011
As I prepare to teach an undergraduate seminar on Calvin and Barth, I’ve been reflecting a bit on how I want my students to engage the latter, since (1) they have likely never read him firsthand and, more importantly, (2) he is not especially lauded in contexts in which my students have been reared or currently find themselves. The second point raises for me the general question: how should I (and my more-or-less conservative students) engage with less conservative writers, particularly upon a first (or second or even third) encounter?