Untitled

[creation-to-eschaton]

"Spirit and Scripture": Fall Theology Conference in Rochester, NY (October 3, 2026)

This year the Canadian-American Theological Association Fall Conference will be held at Northeastern Seminary, Rochester, NY (October 3, 2026). Northeastern Seminary has been hosting Fall Conferences of the Canadian-American Theological Association since October 2013 and we are looking forward to this year’s conference on the theme of “Spirit and Scripture.” This year’s theme is an invitation to…

View On WordPress

[creation-to-eschaton]

Redeeming the Biblical Worldview: Q & A with J. Richard Middleton

I was recently interviewed by Shiao Chong (he goes by Chong), Associate Director of Global Scholars Canada (GSC). I came on board as a scholar with GSC at the end of 2025, with a mandate to help Christian academics in public universities in Canada and beyond reflect more deeply on their calling as Christians, in relationship to their teaching, scholarship, and institutional participation. Since…

View On WordPress

[creation-to-eschaton]

Islands in the Sun: Overtures to a Caribbean Theology

As a representative of Global Scholars Canada, I will be presenting a virtual talk for the Library Reading Group of the Society of Christian Scholars on Friday, 5 June at 1400 UTC (10:00 AM EDT). The Reading Group meets once per month with the stated purpose to “discuss a resource from the Library concerning how to grow in our vocation as Christian academics for redemptive influence among our…

[creation-to-eschaton]

A New Venture with Global Scholars Canada

I have had a wonderful and fulfilling full-time teaching career, which began some thirty years ago at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and continued through my move to Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary. I formally retired from the Seminary in 2024 and have since focused on writing (though as Emeritus Professor I will still teach from time to time). I am currently…

View On WordPress

[creation-to-eschaton]

The Ultimate Victory of God’s Kingdom (The Kingdom of God, part 6)

This is the sixth (and final) installment of an article on the Kingdom of God. Part 1 began with Jesus’s proclamation at the start of his ministry about the kingdom of God. Part 2 looked at Jesus’s sermon at Nazareth, in which he explained the nature of the kingdom he was inaugurating. Part 3 shifted to the biblical backstory of the kingdom, beginning with the royal calling of humanity created…

[creation-to-eschaton]

The Messianic Mission of Jesus (The Kingdom of God, part 5)

This is the fifth installment of an article on the Kingdom of God. Part 1 began with Jesus’s proclamation at the start of his ministry about the kingdom of God. Part 2 looked at Jesus’s sermon at Nazareth, in which he explained the nature of the kingdom he was inaugurating. Part 3 shifted to the biblical backstory of the kingdom, beginning with the royal calling of humanity created to image…

[creation-to-eschaton]

How My Rewrite of The Transforming Vision Will Vary from the Original

View On WordPress

[creation-to-eschaton]

The Story of Israel from Abraham to the Exile (The Kingdom of God, part 4)

This is the fourth installment of an article on the Kingdom of God. Part 1 began with Jesus’s proclamation at the start of his ministry about the kingdom of God. Part 2 looked at Jesus’s sermon at Nazareth, in which he explained the nature of the kingdom he was inaugurating. Part 3 shifted to the biblical backstory of the kingdom, beginning with the royal calling of humanity created to image…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Created in God's Image: The Royal Calling of Humanity (The Kingdom of God, part 3)

This is part 3 of a series of posts on the kingdom of God. Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 can be found here. The kingdom of God in the teaching of Jesus is a distinctly Jewish idea, rooted in Israel’s Scriptures. To understand the significance of this kingdom we will need to explore some of the biblical backstory—especially the theme of “rule,” a royal metaphor for the exercise of…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Biblical Eschatology Video Course: Exploring the Bible's Big Story

Many Christians have a narrow, truncated understanding of what God is up to in the world. Given the size of the shark, police chief Martin Brody said in Jaws, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” So we today need the full scope of the biblical story from creation to consummation to address the crises in our world and in our lives. I have a video course on Biblical Eschatology (tracing the…

View On WordPress

[creation-to-eschaton]

My Signature Course on "Biblical Worldview: Scripture, Theology, Ethics"

This Fall (beginning August 26, 2025), I will be teaching my signature course on the Biblical Worldview as a radical, liberating vision for the church and the world. The course has had a number of different names over the years; it is currently called “Biblical Worldview: Scripture, Theology, Ethics.” I’ve taught non-credit versions of this course since I was a campus minister in Canada (at the…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Three Contemporary Laments

I’ve been reflecting on the value of lament prayer ever since I went through a particularly dark time in my life many years ago. After not praying for some months, I found the lament psalms in the Bible as the door to hope, which opened me up to praying again. These psalms are also known as protest or complaint psalms, and for good reason. Lament as the Door to Hope Lament psalms (like my own…

[creation-to-eschaton]

What Did Jesus Mean by the Kingdom of God?

In my last post, I addressed the reversal of power dynamics in the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. But beyond that, what did Jesus mean by this term? The Nazareth Manifesto Here we are helped by Luke’s Gospel, which does not use the term “kingdom of God” in Jesus’s opening message. Along with Matthew and Mark (the other Synoptic Gospels), Luke tells us about Jesus’s baptism by John…

[creation-to-eschaton]

What Is the Kingdom of God?

Sometime around AD 30 a Jewish peasant named Jesus (Yeshua in his native Aramaic) began preaching a revolutionary message about the “kingdom of God.” This preaching kicked off his public ministry of healing, exorcisms, and teaching, including clashes with the authorities—ultimately leading to his death and resurrection.  This kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was rooted in ancient Jewish…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Update on the Creation Care and Justice Conference in Rochester, NY (October 18–19, 2024)

I posted information about the interdisciplinary conference on Creation Care and Justice over a month ago. Here are a few updates about the conference. Registration In my earlier blog post, I noted that a registration link was coming. The registration link, along with detailed information about the conference is now in place. Registration for the Saturday conference is very reasonable and…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Conference on "Creation Care and Justice" at Northeastern Seminary (October 18–19, 2024)

Northeastern Seminary (in conjunction with the Canadian-American Theological Association, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation, and the American Scientific Affiliation) will sponsor an interdisciplinary conference on “Creation Care and Justice,” on Friday evening through Saturday, October 18–19, 2024. Keynote Speaker, Sylvia Keesmaat Our keynote…

[creation-to-eschaton]

Will the Creation “Pass Away” When Christ Returns?

Revelation 21 opens with an amazing vision of “a new heaven and a new earth.” Since the Bible begins with the affirmation that God created the cosmos, consisting precisely of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1), Revelation 21 proclaims nothing less than a new creation. But in what sense will this creation be new? The question is forced upon us because of the end of the verse that proclaims a new…

View On WordPress