How Does God Act through Communication | Kevin Vanhoozer

Lecture Title - Divine Interjection: How God Puts Morphemes into Motion in the Great Theater of the World Probably no greater obstacle complicates the dialogue between theology and science than the notion of divine intervention, commonly understood to involve divine interference in the laws of nature. Many scientists and some theologians complain that divine intervention complicates and, at the limit, subverts the project of explanation by causation. Accordingly, modern theologians are often reluctant to ascribe any effective causation to God. This lecture attends to biblical depictions of God communicating verbally, suggests divine interjection as an alternative model for understanding special divine action, and explores the strengths, weaknesses, and variations of this inform-active model (Deus dixit) over alternative models that privilege physical causation (Deus ex machina). Kevin J. Vanhoozer (PhD University of Cambridge) is Research Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), Remythologizing Theology: Divine Action, Passion, and Authorship (Cambridge University Press, 2010), Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine (Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), and Hearers and Doers: A Pastor’s Guide to Making Disciples Through Scripture and Doctrine (Lexham Press, 2019). The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world. Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/  Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5 Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter Connect with us! https://twitter.com/henry_center https://www.facebook.com/henrycenter/ https://www.instagram.com/thehenrycenter/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehenrycenter