SOME TIME AGO I was grabbing lunch with a co-worker down at Subway.  We were talking about the book that I had gotten him, the most recent book by N. T. Wright.  Another guy in the line overheard our conversation.  On our way out, the gentleman stopped us to ask us about our conversation topic.  When Wright’s name was mentioned, the gentleman asked us about Wright’s theory of justification and pointed us to another modern-day theologian, John Piper.  (Let it be known that there is some controversy between these two writers and their views on justification theology).

That moment at Subway easily illustrates the point made in a recent article by Stephen Mattson over at Relevant Magazine titled “Who’s Your Theologian?”  It’s a good article that focuses on how contemporary lines are now drawn just as much on theologians as it is on theologies.  What’s good to remember, Mattson points out, is that connecting theologies with theologians goes back at least as far back as Lutheranism or Calvinism on at least some basic level.

The article, by the way, is another instance of good comments making a good article even better.  You can read the article and its comments here.