The Riddleblog

False Jesuses

We begin by noting that the nature of our Lord’s incarnation almost guarantees the presence of false Jesuses. The very idea of God taking to himself a true human nature is in and of itself a unique and somewhat mysterious historical event. That Jesus was a real flesh and blood human, who is also the second person of the Holy Trinity, and nevertheless remains one person, raises many profound and important questions. Questions regarding Jesus’ person and his origin are closely related, and arise throughout the ministry of Jesus as recounted in the gospels.

Those who actually heard Jesus preach about the kingdom of God, were said to marveled at his words, for Jesus spoke as someone having authority–unlike anyone they had heard preach previously. Jesus performed miraculous signs and wonders which were obviously not trickery or chicanery. He instantaneously healed people well-known to crowds who were following him. Jesus even raised the dead–several times. All of this was to confirm that the content of his preaching had its origins in the will of YHWH. The buzz surrounding Jesus was that he might be the long-expected messianic prophet, and some among his followers understood Jesus to claim he was older than Abraham or Moses.

It was impossible to hear or see Jesus and not ask, “who is this?” “Where is he from?” In Matthew 16:13–15 we read of an interesting exchange between Jesus and his disciples regarding this very matter. “When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, `Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ They said, `Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, `But who do you say that I am?’” People have been attempting to answer Jesus’ question ever since.

To read the rest, click here: False Jesuses

Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerOctober 18, 2021False Jesuses, Who Is Jesus?Comment

Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

In this essay, I address the postmillennial eschatology of the famous “Old Princeton” theologians, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and B. B. Warfield. I look at the postmillennialism of Daniel Whitby and Jonathan Edwards, move on to discuss the various postmillennial distinctives, the rise of a distinct Amillennial view (which had previously been discussed under the heading “postmillennialism”) before I draw a series of conclusions about how each of the Princeton theologians modified and moderated the postmillennialism which they inherited from Whitby and Edwards.

You can find the essay here: Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

"For the Sake of the Gospel" -- Paul's Apologetic Speeches in the Book of Acts

I am one of the first people to acknowledge that the contemporary debate over apologetic methodology between the “evidentialists” and the “presuppositionalists,” however unpleasant, nevertheless can be a vital and healthy exercise. It is very important to have a biblically based and carefully honed apologetic methodology in place before confronting the learned paganism of our age. In those instances when this is the goal of the evidentialist-presuppositionalist debate, it ought to be greatly encouraged.

I am perplexed, however, that the parties to this in-house debate spend little time analyzing the Apostle Paul’s apologetic speeches in the Book of Acts. It is here, in Luke’s record of the ever-extending reign of the Risen and Exalted Christ, that we are given a clear picture of how the Apostle Paul sought both to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and defend the Christian truth claim, and this not only in the synagogues of the major cities of Greece and Asia Minor—before Jews and “God-fearing” Gentile proselytes—but also before magistrates as well as in the marketplaces of those Roman and Greek cities where little or nothing was known of the God of Israel and the inspired texts of the Old Testament.

To read “For the Sake of the Gospel” — click here

Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerMarch 22, 2021Paul's Apologetic, Mars Hill, Apologetic Speeches in ActsComment

New Riddleblog Publications

I am continuing to move resources from the old Riddleblog to the new.

Here are two new essays.

The first is an essay from Modern Reformation magazine on the reactions of Jerome and Augustine to the fall of Rome: Jerome, Augustine, and the Fall of Rome (2009)

The second is an essay written for the volume, Always Reforming (a 2010 Festschrift for Dr. Godfrey) which defends a frequent celebration of the Lord’s Supper: The Reformation of the Supper

Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerDecember 30, 2020Jerome and Augustine, Fall of Rome 411

Two New Riddleblog Publications

I have uploaded two essays from the old Riddleblog to “Riddleblog Publications.”

You can find them here:

Eschatology by Ethos

A Rival to Biblical Christianity