We’re coming up on Reformation Day again this seems like a good time to cover the basics again. The medieval church came to teach that we enter a state of grace through baptism. According to the medieval church, we remain in a . . . Continue reading →
That slogan puzzled me the first few times I heard it but I think I understand it more clearly now. I was puzzled because the word “scholar” means “student.” It’s a Latin word derived from the noun Schola or school. A scholar . . . Continue reading →
Cal Thomas has a column in the October 12 issue of WORLD magazine on one of the more important figures in the history modern American Christianity, Sister Aimee Semple McPherson. Thomas writes, Aimee was more famous than any TV evangelist today. She . . . Continue reading →
The AP ran a story yesterday on the naming of seven new Roman “saints.” According to the story, “Two of the new saints were Americans: Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint from the U.S., and Mother Marianne Cope, a 19th century . . . Continue reading →
A Plan, A Plague, and A Passover.
I was driving through town and I noticed the logo on a Ford truck and I was impressed by how well the artwork has held up since the 1920s. That made me think of companies that have tried to change their “brand” . . . Continue reading →
The Standing Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church in America ruled that the Missouri Presbytery erred when it failed to find a strong presumption of guilt that [Teaching Elder] Jeffrey Meyers holds views contrary to the Westminster Standards (BCO 34-5) when it . . . Continue reading →
It is not because we have renounced any article of the catholic faith. We are not heretics. We cordially receive all the doctrines contained in that Symbol which is known as the Apostles’ Creed. We regard all doctrinal decisions of the first six ecumenical councils to be consistent with the Word of God, and because of that consistency, we receive them as expressing our faith. We therefore believe the doctrine of the Trinity and of the person of Christ as those doctrines are expressed in the symbols adopted by the Council of Nicea AD321, that of the Council of Constantinople AD381 and more fully that of the Council of Chalcedon AD451. Continue reading →
some of the most acute and chronic relational hurts Christians experience is within the believing community. Continue reading →
Part 2 The next point of contention is over the doctrine of original sin, i.e., the teaching that “in Adam’s fall sinned we all.” The issue is not whether we sinned in Adam but whether, as Perkins put it, “after baptism…how far . . . Continue reading →
Cheesy yes, but you won’t forget it will you? The HB is self-hosted but you can help the HB defray the cost of renting space on the computer and of bandwidth (the cost of accessing a web page). There are no ads on . . . Continue reading →
Each fall I teach a lecture course on the Ancient Church and a seminar on Patristics. For the first half of the seminar we use Michael Holmes (3rd edition) of the Apostolic Fathers. The Apostolic Fathers is a collection of texts mainly . . . Continue reading →
Dennis Johnson picks up where Steve Baugh left off in our discussion of the book of Hebrews. This episode features Dr. Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology, who begins where Steve Baugh and I left off. Dennis is Professor of Practical Theology . . . Continue reading →
Join Bob Godfrey and me for the Central Valley Conference on Reformed Theology, November 2-3, at Zion URC in Ripon, California. Things kick off Friday evening at 7:30PM. Bob Godfrey will answer the question: Is the Reformation Over? He says “Yes!” On . . . Continue reading →
“‘Come to me a you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest’ or ‘I will be your rest.’ How good are we at pleading with people? Do people get the impression from us not only that there is a feast but that God wants them there and that you want them there?” Continue reading →
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 →
In 2013 the Heidelberg Catechism will be 450 years old. To mark this event Karla Apperloo-Boersma and Herman Selderhuis have edited a new volume (hardcover, 440 pages) on the catechism. According to Amazon it’s $56.00 (HT: Michael A. G. Haykin). Thus begins the . . . Continue reading →
In the ongoing dialogue regarding the relations between “Christ” and “Culture” one of the slogans that gets tossed about concerns a “nature/grace dualism.” I see people using this expression as if everyone knows what it means or as if it means the . . . Continue reading →
The main concern is that TGC comprises folk who do not confess the same understanding of the church and sacraments. Continue reading →
Part 1 In his treatise defending the Reformation understanding of Scripture against resurgent Romanism Perkins counted 22 issues between Protestants (his term) and Rome: 1 Of Free-will. 2 Of Original sin. 3 Assurance of salvation. 4 Justification of a sinner. 5 Of . . . Continue reading →