I am in the studio today to work on an Office Hours podcast for May so there is just time for a quick thought about another way the Reformed confessions can help the churches be more faithful. Continue reading
April 2021 Archive
Heidelcast 178: Responding To Criticisms Regarding Ontology, Feminism, Nature, and Grace
With this episode (the second this week) I am interrupting the series, on eschatology and 1 Peter, As it Was In The Days Of Noah, for a brief reply to some comments recently made on another podcast. In this episode I play . . . Continue reading →
The Spiritual Source Of Apostasy And Its Cure
Apostates will often give an ostensible intellectual reason for their apostasy but, in my experience, the root cause is rarely intellectual. It is typically spiritual. Continue reading
Apostasy Characterizes The Last Days
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. Continue reading
Christianity Is Not A Construct
In order for something to be deconstructed, it must first be a construct, i.e., an artifice, a mere human convention, something that could be other than it is, something that might not be. There are such things in the world (e.g., stop signs) but Christianity is not among them. Continue reading
What Does A Pastor Do?
This week I was chatting with someone who curiously asked me: “What does a pastor do?” Unsurprisingly, it’s a question I get from people inside and outside of the church. Sometimes it’s asked with a note of interested inquisitiveness, and other times . . . Continue reading →
A Guide To Interpreting Scripture: All Scripture Has Two Authors
It is common to hear admonishments to read the Bible and interpret it in context; that is, that we ought to avoid detaching a particular verse, story, or portion of Scripture from the immediate and original context in which it was written. . . . Continue reading →
There Is Only One Way—But Thank God That There Is A Way
The Illusion Of Choices One of the first Bible verses I learned as a young Christian remains near the forefront of my mind because it captures an essential truth. It is John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . . . Continue reading →
Understanding Our Brave New World
The “narrative” (as people say) and the algorithm are real. Continue reading
A Phrase To Be Retired: Best Practice
Every human endeavor has its own vocabulary. Auto mechanics shorthand expressions and jargon—though beware if he or she tells you that you need a new Johnson Rod as you will pay good money for no part and no service—like every other endeavor under the sun. Continue reading
Heidelcast 177: As It Was In The Days Of Noah (21)—Be Not Surprised (2)
This series is a study of what Scripture says about eschatology, i.e., the relation of heaven to earth and last things. We began with a survey of what Scripture says generally and now we are working through 1 Peter. We have come . . . Continue reading →
How The Athanasian Creed Can Help Contemporary Evangelical Theological Discourse
33. Equal to the Father, as touching his deity: and inferior to the Father as touching his humanity (Aequalis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem)—Athanasian Creed. Yesterday, in our Reformed confessions course, we were considering Belgic Confession articles 18 and 19 . . . Continue reading →
SCOTUS Rebukes Ninth Circuit For The Fifth Time, Sides With Religious Freedom Versus California
…The Ninth Circuit’s failure to grant an injunction pending appeal was erroneous. This Court’s decisions have made the following points clear. First, government regulations are not neutral and gener- ally applicable, and therefore trigger strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause, whenever . . . Continue reading →
This Heartbreaking Story Is Being Repeated With More Frequency
But the further my transition went, the more I realized that I wasn’t a man, and never would be. We are told these days that when someone presents with gender dysphoria, this reflects a person’s “real” or “true” self, that the desire . . . Continue reading →
Federal District Court Rules Against Wayne State University And In Favor Of Religious Liberty And Free Speech
Plaintiffs InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Wayne State Chapter, (“Intervarsity”) has for 75 years operated a Christian student organization on the campus of Wayne State University, but in 2017 was denied continued official recognition or registration as a legitimate student . . . Continue reading →
British Christians Object To Vaccine Passports
Dear Prime Minister, As Christian leaders across a range of denominations, we continue to pray at this time for your government “and all in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (1 . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: “Speak Into” And “Love On”
The American Evangelical Abuse Of Prepositions Continues
Two popular expressions entered the American colloquial lexicon about a decade ago. I first heard them both used by an evangelical from the American South. He wanted to “speak into” an issue and “love on” some people. It seems as if the . . . Continue reading →
Why Are Confessionalists Just A Niche?
That was one of the questions I asked in Recovering the Reformed Confession. Continue reading
The Church Has A Twofold Mission And Three Marks And Ending Payday Lenders Is None Of Them
Just before our Lord Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he gave the visible, institutional church as twofold mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, . . . Continue reading →
Grace Neither Obliterates Nor Transforms Nature
This morning we were working through the first article of the first question of Aquinas’ Summa Theologica. Continue reading