While Augustine argues that ‘there are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning and the mode of making known the meaning when it is ascertained,’ it should be evident that the first step . . . Continue reading →
Author Archives: Heidelblog
New: Resources On The Doctrine Of The Church (Ecclesiology)
When one talks about the church what is at stake is the way in which the Christian life is organized. I believe that the Bible teaches us that believers should be united to the visible community of the redeemed meeting for worship, . . . Continue reading →
New: Resources On The Internal/External Distinction In The Covenant Of Grace
When God said to Abraham, “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your children after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your children after you” (Genesis 17:7) and “As . . . Continue reading →
New: Resource Page On Weddings And Funerals
How should Reformed Christians conduct weddings and funerals in an age when everything, even ancient rituals, has deconstructed? The American impulse is to start from scratch, as though no one has ever thought about these things before. Scholars describe this way of . . . Continue reading →
The Covenant of Works in Moses and Paul
In the controversy between Protestants and Roman Catholics there has been no question whether Jesus obeyed God’s law, but only to what effect. Did Jesus obey the law so as to make it possible for us to cooperate with grace toward future justification, or did he obey God’s law for us (pro nobis) to accomplish our justification once for all? The Protestants affirmed the latter and denied the former. Nevertheless, despite the unity among confessional Protestants on justification, questions have persistently arisen among them concerning the nature, intent, and effect of Jesus’s law keeping and its relation to the justification of sinners. Continue reading →
Top Five Posts For The Week Of November 11–17, 2024
These were the top five posts for the week of November 11–17, 2024. Continue reading →
New: Resources On Confessional Subscription
The Christian church has always had a confession or a creed. There are creeds in Scripture itself, e.g., Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.” This was recited in the synagogue as a confession of faith and it . . . Continue reading →
Let Them Laugh Now
Suppose some persons laugh. You weep on the other hand for their transgression! Many also once laughed at Noah while he was preparing the ark; but when the flood came, he laughed at them; or rather, the righteous man never laughed at . . . Continue reading →
Video: Was the Council of Nicaea About Power?
Is orthodox doctrine simply an oppressive monopoly? Did early Christianity include gnosticism? Renowned scholar Elaine Pagels has made this case for many years. In this episode, theologian Michael Horton responds to Pagels’s claims as she appears on the Within Reason Podcast with . . . Continue reading →
Augustine On Christ’s Present Reign
Today is St Augustine’s birthday (354 AD). In honor of his birthday, today’s Heidelquote is by St Augustine. 3. Therefore let the Church of Christ, the city of the great King, full of grace, prolific of offspring, let her say what the . . . Continue reading →
Top Five Posts For The Week Of November 4–10, 2024
These were the top five posts for the week of November 4–10, 2024. Continue reading →
Tertullian Anticipated Anselm On The Ontological Argument
The principal, and indeed the whole, contention lies in the point of number: whether two Gods may be admitted, by poetic license (if they must be), or pictorial fancy, or by the third process, as we must now add, of heretical depravity. . . . Continue reading →
What Tertullian Really Said About Jerusalem And Athens
These are “the doctrines” of men and “of demons” produced for itching ears of the spirit of this world’s wisdom: this the Lord called “foolishness,” and “chose the foolish things of the world” to confound even philosophy itself. For (philosophy) it is . . . Continue reading →
Video: Did the Reformation Cause Secularization?
Professor and Reformed theologian Michael Horton responds to Tom Holland’s analysis and tries to answer the question of whether the Protestant Reformation did indeed lead to the secularization of the West. Continue reading →
Vos Against An Earthly Glory Age Before Christ Returns
The idea of the Antichrist in general and that of the apostasy in particular reminds us that we may not expect an uninterrupted progress of the Christianization of the world until the parousia. As the reign of truth will be extended, so . . . Continue reading →
The Church Turned To Social Issues When It Should Have Turned To Doctrinal Issues
This discrepancy points to the prevailing interests of our Protestant churches in the twentieth century. At that time, much more attention was given to Christianity’s relationship with social issues than with doctrinal matters, and Philemon seems to touch more on social issues—specifically, . . . Continue reading →
On The Cowardice Of Philosophers
Debates on sex and gender have suffered from a want of moral and intellectual toughness. More detailed, less question-begging diagnoses are possible of why so many smart people shy away from publicly acknowledging that a woman is an adult human female. But . . . Continue reading →
Top Five Posts For The Week Of October 28–November 3, 2024
These were the top five posts for the week of October 28–November 3, 2024. Continue reading →
Video: WSC 2024 Reformation Day Lecture “Let God Be God!”
Dr. Michael Horton gives the annual Reformation Lecture at Westminster Seminary California, entitled “Let God Be God!” Continue reading →
Video: The Gift of The Sabbath
Chris Gordon Dan Borvan discuss the topic is the sanctity and importance of the Sabbath. Continue reading →