A Theological App for That

Say you’re at lunch and someone starts chatting casually about the aseity of the Son. Well, you don’t want to be caught short. No, you want to be part of the conversation. You want to act like you know what’s going on by doing more than making knowing grunts of approval. But you really haven’t a clue what aseity (uh-SEE-i-tee) is. What do you do?

It’s obvious.

You pull out your smart phone and while pretending to check Facebook, you actually pull up your IVP Pocket Reference App and find out that aseity, “a divine attribute, refers to God’s self-existence.” Now you can do way more than act smart or look smart. You can actually talk smart, affirming that the self-existence of the Son of God in eternity past, without any prior cause, has (while not for eternity past but at least for millennia past) been one of the firm teachings of Christian orthodoxy.

For $1.99 you can keep up with your pastor’s sermon when he forgets he’s not in seminary anymore and starts taking about the eschaton, the magisterium, monism or semi-pelagianism. All this from the experts IVP has published in the Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, with more titles coming to add to your app from the IVP Pocket Reference series.

While it has just been released this month, a Google user has already given it four stars, saying, “Considering the existing and planned titles with the simple interface and ability to add and search your own terms – plus notes and highlights – I think this is a solid value and bound to improve.”

Another reviewer says, “In short, it has a lot and considerably more than would be expected for $1.99. It’s a steal; it’s a bargain; it’s ideal for anyone, layperson or pastor or student.”

And what happens if your neo-Calvinist friend hits you with infralapsarianism? Well, we’ve got a theological app for that.