Lots of folks have been scratching their heads wondering how genderless marriage — which seemed just a fantasy on the fringes just a decade or so ago — so quickly became a reality of American public policy today. There are a lot . . . Continue reading →
2014 Archive
Providence (3): The “As It Were” Principle
In part 2 we considered the biblical and confessional Reformed teaching that the triune God is actively present, sustaining and governing all that is. In our account of the doctrine of providence we use an interesting little expression that is freighted with . . . Continue reading →
On The Most Generous Interpretation, It Still Looks Bad
The University of East Anglia’s official report about the leaked e-mails concluded that “opposing interpretations can be obtained from the same statement.” But even if we give those involved the benefit of the doubt — presuming that “trick” and “hide the decline” . . . Continue reading →
Providence: God’s Active, Almighty, Present Power (2)
In the previous post we considered what it means to say “I believe in God the Father almighty. One of the most scurrilous things that some neo-Pentecostalists have alleged against the historic Christian view of God is that we are Deists. Quite . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Divine Covenants And Moral Order
In the 16th and 17th centuries, indeed, from the 2nd century until the 20th century there was little question among Christians whether God has revealed his moral law in nature and in the conscience. In the 20th century, however, that verity came to . . . Continue reading →
Contemporaneous Account Of The Attempt To Exterminate All The Protestants
So it was determined to exterminate all the Protestants and the plan was approved by the queen. They discussed for some time whether they should make an exception of the king of Navarre and the prince of Condé. All agreed that the . . . Continue reading →
Sunrise Highway In April
This gallery contains 4 photos.
John Paul II, Sister, & Billy Sunday
Yet with Rome, the grandeur and spectacle of it all somehow overwhelms and masks the fact that its trading on fundamentally the same motive that drives TMZ. It’s easy to make fun of the extremes of Americana religion, with Sister Aimee riding . . . Continue reading →
Williamson Contra Piketty
We treat the physical results of capitalism as though they were an inevitability. In 1955, no captain of industry, prince, or potentate could buy a car as good as a Toyota Camry, to say nothing of a 2014 Mustang, the quintessential American . . . Continue reading →
You Are Not Special
“Homosexual” And “Homosexuality” In The New Testament
Below are some notes I compiled as part of a broader discussion about how Christians ought to think about homosexuality. The argument was made that the Bible does not really speak clearly to the question of homosexual behavior. In response I offered . . . Continue reading →
Murray To Azusa Pacific Students: Think For Yourself
The task of the scholar is to present a case for his or her position based on evidence and logic. Another task of the scholar is to do so in a way that invites everybody into the discussion rather than demonize those . . . Continue reading →
Providence: God’s Active, Almighty, Present, Power (1)
From the moment Adam sought to grasp equality with God (Phil 2), from the moment he mysteriously rebelled against God’s sovereignty and hiddenness (“You shall be as God”), from the moment he ceased to love and adore the triune God, since that . . . Continue reading →
An Elitist Mob Tells The Unwashed Masses
As with all such discussions, an elitist few take it upon themselves to tell the unwashed masses what they may and may not say — or by logical extension, what they may or may not think. These self-appointed arbiters of speech and . . . Continue reading →
Christian Witness In Beirut To Jesus’ Resurrection
(HT: Stella Morabito)
The Canons Of Dordt
Every one knows the acronym TULIP, but not everyone knows where this acronym comes from. The Canons of Dordt are among the most famous but unread deliverances of any Reformed Synod. The canons are more than five letters. The canons teach a pastoral doctrine . . . Continue reading →
Earth Day Irony
(HT: Roy Spencer, PhD)
Calvin Didn’t Say Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda
These participles, reformata and reformanda, were not constantly on Calvin’s tongue. However, it is clear enough that his pattern was to use reformata as an adjective to describe a church that is more or less free of liturgical and theological abuses, and . . . Continue reading →
Of Coarse Jesting, Wisdom, And Christian Liberty
A faithful reader of the HB wrote to ask about to think about seeking God’s glory while hanging out with and having a good time with the guys. Here’s my expanded reply: How do we think about hanging out with the guys . . . Continue reading →
Saturday And The Silence Of The Lamb
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday. Perhaps it is because the Saturday between “Good” Friday and Resurrection Day is, for others a sort of relief. For them it is a day off from . . . Continue reading →