essence

  • Character Assassination (2)

    And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  Hebrews 1:3  NASB   Nature – hypóstasis.  One of the most important Greek words in the Bible.  Before we dive into the theological implications,…

  • Theological Necessity (1)

    Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing [h]be upon Your people! Selah  Psalm 3:8  NASB To the LORD – It goes without saying that the Psalms consistently ascribe salvation to YHVH.  So do the prophets.  No one would argue this point.  Therefore, we are pressed to ask, “If the Tanakh views YHVH as the source of salvation, why does Christianity…

  • The Via Negativa Again

    [Zophar the Naamathite responded,] “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?”  Job 11:7  NASB Can you discover – Questioning is a sin, right?  Have you heard that before?  Have you been in a religious environment where raising issues is forbidden?  Just believe what the authority tells you. …

  • 999.9

    Your word is very pure, therefore Your servant loves it.  Psalm 119:140 NASB Pure – Think of the ways we use the word “pure.”  “Pure as the driven snow.”  “Pure white.”  “Guaranteed pure.”  “Pure breed.”  Then there’s the jeweler’s view.  When is something “pure gold”?  24 karat and 999.9 fineness are considered pure gold, but in fact…

  • Transcendental Texts

    I will not act in My blazing wrath, I will no more destroy Ephraim.  For I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I do not desire to root out.  Hosea 11:9  Robert Alter Not a man – Christian theology employs texts like this one to support its view…

  • Too Much for Our Own Good

    “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?”   Exodus 15:11  NASB Awesome – The Greek heritage of the West is focused on one fundamental goal: to rationally understand.  The method is examination of phenomena in the world in order to discover causal connections. …

  • Who Is God?

    God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?  Numbers 23:19  NASB Not a man – Thomas Aquinas would have gladly endorsed this claim of Moses. …