In Article IX, under the heading, “Spheres of Authority,” the Statement (version 2) says: WE AFFIRM that God has established spheres of authority such as the home, the Church, and the civil government. We affirm that God has given unique responsibilities and . . . Continue reading →
When Theodosius I (AD 347–95) took the throne in AD 379, no one knew how profoundly the next 1,500 years of Christian history would be affected (and effected) by his promulgation of the decree (AD 380) to make Christianity the state religion . . . Continue reading →
In Article VIII the Statement (version 2) says: WE AFFIRM that God’s purpose for civil government is to establish justice for His glory and the good of all people. We affirm that unjust laws harm people and that just laws reflect the . . . Continue reading →
The AP Stylebook was, until recent years, one of the most respected and influential authorities for American journalists. Undergraduate journalism students are regularly directed to the AP Style as the “bible” for journalists. It functions similarly to the way the Chicago Manual . . . Continue reading →
That is just one of a series of claims made recently by my friend Mark Dever, who is a devout Baptist. Rather than reading my summary of Mark’s claims, you should watch this brief video clip for yourself, to which I will . . . Continue reading →
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently convened to make some of the most significant rulings on religious freedom in recent years. The court held unanimously: “Title VII requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the . . . Continue reading →
WE AFFIRM that civil officials are God’s deacons of justice. Therefore, they must obey His commands and rule under His authority. We affirm that all human authorities, including civil officials, possess authority only as it has been delegated to them by God . . . Continue reading →
Recently it has been argued (on a podcast co-hosted by Mary Katherine Ham and in an op-ed by David French) that parents have the right, if they will, to subject their children to sex re-assignment surgery. French objects to the alleged interference . . . Continue reading →
One of the most important aspects in the debate over so-called Christian Nationalism is the nature of Christ’s Lordship and Kingdom. According to Augustine, there are two cities. According to Luther (and more than a few Reformed writers) there are two kingdoms. . . . Continue reading →
It is a remarkable thing to see Baptists, Muscovite theonomists (aka Christian Nationalists), and Roman Catholics lamenting the death of cultural Christianity, but it is happening. I was reminded of these lamentations this week as I scrolled through my social media feed. . . . Continue reading →
On this date in 1959 the state of Nebraska executed the death sentence upon Charles Starkweather, an admitted, notorious spree killer and mass murderer. Certainly, when “Charlie” (as he was known) was captured after a shootout in Douglas, Wyoming there was little doubt and by the end of his trial it was certain that he had committed a shocking and brutal series of murders in and around what was then a sleepy college town and state capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska. The only real question that remained through the trial, which persists to this day, is whether Caril Ann Fugate, whose family Charlie murdered, accompanied him willingly during his spree, whether she cooperated in or even committed some of the murders, or whether she was a hostage (as she later claimed) and suffered from Stockholm Syndrome. Continue reading →
At her most recent General Assembly (GA), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) voted to create a commission to write a “humble petition” (WCF 31.4) to the fifty state governments and the United States government regarding the transgender issue. No one knows . . . Continue reading →
Finally, we come to the recently published Statement On Christian Nationalism and the Gospel (hereafter, the Statement).1 The authors of this document are as follows, according to the website: James Silberman (Communications Director at Free the States and columnist for The Federalist) . . . Continue reading →
Because it seems that advocates of the Dispensational Lordship doctrine suspect anyone who critiques them of latent antinomianism, let me say here that I agree entirely with MacArthur when he writes, “and any ‘salvation’ that does not alter a lifestyle of sin . . . Continue reading →
As Michael Horton acknowledges in his work on covenant theology, one of the more difficult issues in covenant theology is how to relate the Mosaic Covenant to the earlier Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. Complicating matters is the old Dispensational doctrine . . . Continue reading →
In a recent essay, I tried to make the case from Westminster Confession 31.4 (in the American version; 31.5 in the 1648 edition) that the current transgender crisis does not fall under “cases extraordinary,” and thus, ecclesiastical assemblies should not be petitioning the . . . Continue reading →
In a controversy, the temptation is to become competitive and to try to defeat one’s opponent, rather than to seek the truth. Controversy is an opportunity for the mortification (putting to death) of sin and vivification (the making alive of the new . . . Continue reading →
I was searching for something the other day and ran across chapter 18 of the Scots Confession (1560) which speaks to the “Notes” (from the Latin, nota or “mark” or “indicator”) of the True Kirk (church). Ordinarily, when I think of the . . . Continue reading →
So far we have considered what nationalism is and the end of the last vestiges of Christendom in America, which prompted the rise of so-called Christian Nationalism. Just as the end of blue laws provoked the Moral Majority movement, so too has . . . Continue reading →
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur . . . Continue reading →