Author Archives: R. Scott Clark

About 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. Read more» He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.

With The Presbycast On The Federal Vision

by on October 21, 2016

The self-described “Federal Vision” has been with us, in its most recent incarnation, since about 1974, when Norman Shepherd began to teach that we are justified through faith and works. That’s right. A professor of theology, in an ostensibly confessional school, openly . . . Continue reading →

Polycarp Versus The Progressives

by on October 20, 2016 | 4 Comments

In 1973, Charles Merritt Nielsen imagined what might have happened had Polycarp (69–155 AD), the senior pastor of the Christian congregation in Smyrna (today Izmir, Turkey), adopted the rhetoric of theological progressives, who look for approval from the broader, unbelieving world: Polycarp . . . Continue reading →

Does The Westminster Confession Contradict Calvin On Assurance And Faith?

by on October 20, 2016 | 3 Comments

For much of the 20th century it was a datum, a given, for many students of Calvin and the Reformed tradition that many of the English Reformed (especially the Westminster Assembly) abandoned Calvin and the Reformation doctrine of the faith and assurance. . . . Continue reading →

Strangers And Aliens (23e): Theology Of The Cross (1 Peter 5:6–11)

by on October 18, 2016

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a . . . Continue reading →

What “Every Thought Captive” Means In Its Original Context

by on October 14, 2016 | 9 Comments

One of the first slogans I learned as a young Reformed theologian was to be Reformed was to “take every thought captive.” I learned that this slogan signaled the determination by those from whom I was learning theology to bring every aspect . . . Continue reading →

Are Mainline Baptisms Valid?

by on October 11, 2016 | 18 Comments

A friend and HB reader writes to ask about the validity baptisms administered in mainline (liberal) congregations. Should a NAPARC  (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council) affiliated congregation receive as valid a baptism performed by a minister in a denomination that has . . . Continue reading →

Strangers And Aliens (23d): You Are Not Alone (1 Peter 5:6–11)

by on October 10, 2016

Politicians have often been tempted to declare “Peace in Our Time.” The most notorious example of this folly is the 1938 declaration by the Prime Minister of Great Britain that he and the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler had reached an accord to prevent war between them. Continue reading →

A Friendly Reply To Derek Regarding Calvin, Luther, And The Falling Of The Church

by on October 8, 2016 | 8 Comments

You can catch up with the flow of the discussion via Derek Rishmawy’s interesting essay but the short story is that Carl Trueman published an essay at First Things properly cautioning American evangelicals about re-making Luther into their own image and challenging . . . Continue reading →