Tim explains the often misunderstood philosophy of apologetics.
Proving God from Perfection
Can God be proven? Yes. Denying the provability of God is popular today, even for Christians. Faith and reason have been divorced, and we Christians sometimes swallow that pill without realizing it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Faith seeks understanding, but it is built on it too. We believe in God for good reason or else we have no reason to believe in God.
Thomas Aquinas gives a series of five ways of proving the existence of God. The fourth way is taken from our idea of perfection.
Davenant's California Convivium (2023)
Convivia aim to translate the riches of Christian doctrine to local churches, presentations should seek to be accessible and as jargon-free as possible, without sacrificing intellectual rigor. Davenant invites you to submit paper proposals in theology or philosophy in preparation for a 30-minute presentation followed by 30-minute discussion.
Bringing Baptists Back to Their Roots
Protestantism was never meant to be anarchy. Today, every church does what is right in its own eyes to the detriment of the health of the church. At The Davenant Institute, our new Baptist Studies program seeks to draw from our rich tradition and to stand on the shoulders of giants, as we find contemporary application for time-tested doctrines.
Christian Ethics
Duty or Virtue: Which Does the Church Need More?
Many Christians assume morality starts with duty to commands. We search the Bible looking for commands to obey. Yet swiftly we invent new rules, and eventually accidental legalism is born. Even healthy churches struggle with this subtle moralism that breeds Pharisaism, with honesty sacrificed for appearances, or compassion for authoritarianism. How can we reform our view of duty?
Is There a Reformed Virtue Ethics?
Is there a reformed virtue ethics? What is being asked here? With the natural law foundations long since abandoned, ethical discourse in the anglophone world has largely been focused on solving problems it has invented. Protestant moral theology has had its own rocky history developing in tandem with and greatly influenced by trends in secular philosophy. There has also been a slowly rising interest among Protestants to return to our roots.
How To Be A Davenant Bro: A Beginner's Guide (Live from Convivium!)
In another special episode recorded at our 2022 National Convivium, Onsi and Colin are joined by Tim Jacobs, Davenant Teaching Fellow and (in a surprise apperance) Evan Zhuo, our Davenant House intern. They talk about the unique vibe of the Convivium, the surprising appeal of Reformed irenicism among Baptists, Herman Bavinck's forgotten teacher, and the diversity of philosophical positions within the Davenant Institute.
Theology as a Science: Aquinas on How Philosophy Transforms Theology
How did theology become systematic? What is the history of the literal interpretation of Scripture? Thanks to the adoption of Aristotelian scientific methods, learned from his philosophical methodology, theologians transformed the allegorical and mystical interpretation of Scripture into literal interpretation.
See how Peter Lombard, Albert the Great, and Aquinas transformed theology into the systematic theology we have today.
"Aristotelianism" in Four Views on Christian Metaphysics
What is the relationship between the body and soul? What is reality? Church history has long used Aristotelian tools to answer these questions in theology, and I defend Aristotelian metaphysics in Four Views on Christian Metaphysics.
Four Views on Christian Metaphysics presents four prominent views held among Christians today on the major questions in philosophical metaphysics. What is the nature of existence itself? What is it for something to exist? What are universals? What is the soul? How do these things relate to God, in light of special and general revelation? The four Christian perspectives presented in this book are: Platonism, Aristotelianism, idealism, and postmodernism. The purpose of this book is to help Christians think deeply and carefully about a Christian view of the ultimate nature of reality and our place in it.
Getting Kids Out of the Cave
Pastor Tony interviews philosopher Timothy Jacobs of the Davenant Institute about why philosophy is important for our families. Listen and be blessed and also consider giving financial support for Tim's work with Davenant. Learn more at www.tljacobs.com/davenant
Neurology & the Virtue of Gratitude
Modern science and the Christian community do not always communicate with each other as much as they should. While secular scholarship grows more interested in the health benefits of gratitude and other virtues from a neurological and psychological angle, Thomists will not be surprised that a health benefit is associated with virtuous activity. The close mind-body relationship of hylomorphism could equip scientists to explain mental health in non-materialistic and reductionist ways. More partnership could exist between psychology and philosophy as both help explain each other.
The Necessity of the Natural Law
Special revelation is God’s instruction book. But what device is it an instruction book for? Which is prior, the device or the instructions? Can someone figure out how to use it properly without the instructions, even if imperfectly? Advocates of the natural law say “Yes.” God created human nature to function in a certain way. The way God ordered humanity and the rest of creation is an expression of his own orderly nature.
Aristotle's Politics
Aristotelian-Thomistic Psychology
Aristotle’s On the Soul along with his Categories helps us define the soul and its powers., and consequently different essences, like human nature. It lays the groundwork of a Christian psychology as Thomas Aquinas develops Aristotelian psychology in a Christian way. In both Aristotle and Aquinas, this psychology establishes the groundwork for the natural law and Aristotelian ethics.
