Thanks for reading the Heidelblog this year. You were one of more than 200,000 people who visited the HB in 2014, where there were 690,000 downloads (hits). Most readers come to the HB from Twitter. Readers also found the HB via various Facebook pages, The Aquila Report, Monergism.com, Kim Riddlebarger, and Darryl Hart. Thank you for helping others to find the HB. People often find the HB via google searches. Apart from the most obvious (Heidelblog) some of the most interesting search terms for 2014 were leviathan, Green Lantern, salvation, definitive sanctification, agreeance (sic), and replacement theology. Most readers came to the HB from the USA, followed by the UK, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Germany, Brazil, France, South Africa, and Japan. The most frequent commenters this year were John Rokos, Richard Chelvan, Peter Herz, Matt, Frank Aderholt, and Jack Miller. Thanks to all who took the time to add to the HB and to make it more useful toward recovering the Reformed confession.

The Heidelcast is a major feature of the HB. Since September, 2013 there have 25,000 downloads. The most popular episode so far is #70 Nomism and Antinomianism (pt 11) in the series on The Marrow of Modern Divinity. If you’re using iTunes subscribe to the HC here. If you’re using another app (e.g., Podcruncher), subscribe here. I’ve found Podcruncher far superior to the re-designed Apple podcast app. One of my favorite episodes of the year was the interview with Stella Morabito.

There are two sorts of contributors that deserve special thanks. First, I’m grateful to those who contributed financially to the upkeep of the HB (server costs, equipment, etc). This is not a 501(c)3 organization—so the IRS should not be asking me about the content of my prayers—so their gifts are especially appreciated. Thanks to Jack Miller, Dan Borvan, Joshua Martin, and Tom Wenger for contributing posts this summer. The HB is free and they wrote for the HB gratis.  Thanks also to those who catch typos and who take the time to send me a note so I can correct them.

Finally, a special word of thanks to the wonderful wizard of web who works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the HB online and who produced a brand new look for the HB this year.

Of the 600+ posts in 2014 here are the top 10:

1. Baptism and Circumcision According to Colossians 2:11-12
2. Faith Alone Is The Instrument Of Justification AND Salvation
3. The Green Lantern v Paul on Election
4. Grammar Guerilla: Agreement v Agreeance
5. Rick Warren And Catholics Together
6. The Mystery Of Children’s Church
7. Yes Virginia, There Is A Law-Gospel Distinction
8. Covenant Theology Is Not Replacement Theology
9. Oh That Tullian! (3)
10. In Order for Leviathan to Flourish He Must First Kill Natural Law

One unhappy but persistent truth about the interwebs is that controversy sells. Thus, it’s good to see that some relatively non-controversial posts made the top 10 this year. Otherwise, the list reflects some current controversy or other. I hope the reader will understand that the HB was not established to be controversial. It was founded as a place to comment on and discuss the Heidelberg Catechism. Indeed, most of the attention of the HB this year has been on the catechism. We’re up to HC 51. Nevertheless, the HB was established (c. 2007) just as the Federal Vision controversy was heating up and that did dominate the HB until about 2009. Since that time, however, I’ve made a conscious effort to broaden the range of topics covered by the HB. Political correctness, civil liberties, and religious freedom, were added or grew as categories in 2014. Just as the FV controversy began to cool, controversy over sanctification emerged right on schedule. Three of the posts reflect interest in that discussion. The award for the most surprising entry goes to the Green Lantern post. It illustrates that one never knows what will catch the interest of readers. That the relations between baptism and circumcision made the list suggests that the question of how to define the adjective Reformed is still a live question.

In no particular order, here are some posts from 2014 that you might have missed:

1. A Cross And A Twofold Kingdom
2. Big
3. Of Worldviews And Christian Liberty
4. Telling The Truth To A Skeptical Millennial Village
5. The Robe Then And Now: An Indicator Of Where We Are
6. Useful Myths And Reformed Identity Markers
7. The Michael Sam Case: Is Being Homosexual The Same As Being Black?
8. Lent: Of Good Intentions, Spiritual Disciplines, and Christian Freedom
9. Man Discovers Jesus’ Hymnal
10. One God, Three Persons. Full Stop
11. Messages To Millennials
12. Does God Change?
13. Coarse Jesting, Wisdom, And Christian Liberty
14. You’ve Been Invited To A [Fill In The Blank]: Should You Go?
15. Romans 2:13: Justified Through Our Faithfulness?
16. The Necessity And Efficacy Of Good Works In Salvation
17. Does Baptism Save?
18. Independence And The Practice Of The Faith
19. Is The Christian Life More Like Colorado Or Nebraska?
20. Worthy Of The Gospel
21. Invincible Ignorance
22. What’s The Use Of Infant Baptism?
23. But Is It Biblical?
24. He is the Savior And We Are The Saved
25. Setting Priorities For the Congregation
26. Seed, Seeds, And Infant Baptism
27. A Really Short Case For Infant Baptism
28. Between Hagiography And Cynicism
29. Seven Short Points About Republication
30. It’s National Radio Day
31. It’s Not Unusual 
32. The Fugitive, The Truth, And Social Media
33. Psalms, Hymns, And Spiritual Songs And Instruments In The Latin Bibles
34. What Did the Divines Mean By “Psalms”?
35. Facts, Evidence, Wisdom, And Gossip
36. Of The Virgin Mary
37. It’s Never Too Late To Face Reality
38. What Is The Gift In Ephesians 2:8?
39. Sabbath Or Sabbaths In Colossians 2:16–17?
40. We Are Not Orphans

Other HB features to check out:

Heidelquotes

Escondido: Documenting Life in North San Diego County

Post authored by:

• R. Scott Clark

  

  R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.

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