By Howard Sloan. He notes that Ed was a bit more tolerant on the 2nd commandment than the Reformed confessions. In view of the constant pressure presented to the Reformed confession of the 2nd commandment by evangelicals and others, it’s well to . . . Continue reading →
second commandment
Reformed Churches are Scripture-Singing Churches
If your congregation is in a confessional Reformed denomination/federation but it isn’t a Scripture-singing congregation, there’s a problem.
You Want Pictures of Jesus?
Danny Hyde’s got your picture of God the Son right here.
On P&R Churches and "Holy Days"
Andy Webb has a very helpful post on this topic. Darryl Hart asks when Presbyterians became Adventists? With the help of Leigh Eric Schmidt makes some very interesting and important points about the way commercial interests coincided with the interests of revivalist . . . Continue reading →
Don’t Build It or Build a Bigger One?
A giant violation of the second commandment (that’s the one forbidding visible representations of God) burned to the ground yesterday near Cincinnati, OH after being struck by lightening (HT: Brad Lindvall).
The Real Question is Whether There is An Objective Definition of Reformed
Part of Saturday was spent trading tweets with Matthew Milliner, who teaches Art History at Wheaton College. We had a good, genial conversation from two different confessional traditions. I’m not sure but judging by his arguments I inferred that Matthew may identify . . . Continue reading →
The Killer Bs: Idols of the Minister’s Heart
An HB Classic
There are three great idols that all ministers must tear down daily cast into the fire for scrap: buildings, bodies, and budgets. These are the three things that almost invariably come up in conversation with pastors and, I must confess, I’ve too . . . Continue reading →
On Elements and Circumstances
An HB Classic
The Reformed confessions distinguish between the elements of worship and the circumstances of worship. In Westminster Confession 21 we say, “…the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he . . . Continue reading →
Imagination
One of the recurring themes of the dialogue between Reformed confessionalists and the more broadly evangelical adherents to aspects of the Reformed soteriology (namely predestination) represented by some members of the Gospel Coalition is the question of how to define the adjective . . . Continue reading →
You Mean That There’s More Than "Shine, Jesus Shine"?
Do you realize that, for people of a certain age, let’s say those born since 1980, “Shine, Jesus Shine” (published in 1987) is now a “traditional hymn”? It’s about as “traditional” for those generations as revival songs from the early 20th century . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 34: Jesus On A Pizza
Alleged manifestations of our Lord have been claimed for a long time since the close of the apostolic period. It is even more common for artists to represent what they imagine his likeness to have been in paintings. So widely accepted are . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 52: Images Of Christ Don’t Affirm His Humanity, They Deny It
In some Reformed quarters to it is considered clever to argue that to reject images is to deny the humanity of Christ. That Reformed writers should make such an argument would shock our Reformed forefathers, who were convinced that images of Christ . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: God’s Accommodation No License For Images
God, indeed, from time to time showed the presence of his divine majesty by definite signs, so that he might be said to be looked upon face to face. But all the signs that he ever gave forth aptly conformed to his . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Against Images Of Christ
God has forbidden two things [ cf. Exodus 20:4-5]. First, the making of any picture of Him…. The other is, that no image may be worshipped…. The setting up of images in churches, is a defiling . . . By and by, . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: People Have Never Liked The Regulative Principle
I know how difficult it is to persuade the world that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned by His Word. The opposite persuasion which cleaves to them, being seated, as it were, in their very bones and marrow, . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On Circumstances And Worship
Thirdly, there are ecclesiastical or ceremonial ordinances, prescribed by men, which include the determinations of circumstances necessary or useful for the maintenance of the moral precepts of the first table; of which kind are the time, the place, the form and order . . . Continue reading →
Not For Carvers Or Artists
Although Christ assumed human nature, yet he did not on that account assume it in order to provide a model for carvers and painters. He denied that he had come “to abolish the law and the prophets” (Matt. 5:17). But images are . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 96–98: Worshiping The True God Truly (2)
The regulative principle of worship, however, does distinguish confession Reformed and Presbyterian churches from the broad evangelical traditions, many of whom are descended from the Pietists and the Anabaptists. The confessional Lutheran churches, the Anglican church, and the Romanists all operate on the normative principle. That principle works for many things in daily life. May one cross this street? Yes, certainly. It is not forbidden. The regulative principle, however, does not work for daily life. “Must I cross this street?” It was never intended to applied to daily life, outside of public worship. In the same way, the normative principle does not work for public worship. Continue reading →
Christian, Why Do You Sing A Swedenborgian, Social-Gospel, Hymn Written By A Unitarian Minister?
“It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” (now typically titled, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”) was first published in 1834. It was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810–76), an Unitarian minister with Swedenborgian convictions. C. Michael Hawn, who teaches sacred music, describes . . . Continue reading →
God Does Not Help Those Who Help Themselves Or Why The Reformation Still Matters
The Reformation Still Matters Sometimes when we talk about the Reformation we give or receive the impression that it was purely a historical event with no continuing relevance or even that Reformation is one thing and mission is another. Here is an . . . Continue reading →