Over at the Puritanboard Sebastian asks I find often that people think the Refgormed undiscrimantely reject(ed) the communicatio idiomatum. However, the 2nd Helvetic Confession is as clear as any in accepting it. However, it does not qualify the way later theological formulations . . . Continue reading →
In part one I sketched the biblical evidence for the claim that homosexuality is a sin. In part two I address the argument that some make in defense of the notion that there are such things as “gay Christians” is the appeal . . . Continue reading →
I’ve been speaking with an especially thoughtful young person recently who asked me whether it was appropriate to speak of “Gay Christians.” My first response was to ask whether it is appropriate to speak of “Murderer Christians” or “Thief Christians” or “Idolater . . . Continue reading →
Hebrews 12 is a vital chapter in the book. In it we get a clearer sense of the challenges they faced, the persecution they were experiencing for Christ’s sake, and the temptation they had to overcome by God’s grace. The pastor invokes . . . Continue reading →
Time was that church historians also taught church polity and what is sometimes called pastoral theology. This was, I suppose, because we used to recognize that the study of the history of the practice of the church gives a certainsight into how . . . Continue reading →
It’s the season for final exams at Westminster Seminary California. I always get a little nervous during a final, even though I’m the one giving it and not the one taking it. Naturally I want the students to do well but by the . . . Continue reading →
Originally published 18 May, 2013. Updated 23 May 2013 (below). From the 16 May 2013 Memo to the Hon. Aaron Schock, Member of Congress, Committee of Ways and Means, from Thomas Brejcha, Peter Breen, Sally Wagenmaker, Esqs. Thomas More Society. The IRS . . . Continue reading →
More than 30 years ago, when I first came into contact with Reformed theology, piety, and practice (the Reformed confession broadly defined), I also came into contact with a movement within the Reformed world known as “Christian Reconstructionism” and its child “theonomy.” . . . Continue reading →
Darrel, writes, “After reading your paper, The Israel of God, it struck me that you did not mention any of the as yet to be fulfilled prophesies concerning the Nation of Israel. Why? Also, it seems that you cast things in a . . . Continue reading →
The church always exists in some culture, somewhere. Prior to the new heavens and the new earth, the church will never be free of the influence of the prevailing culture where it finds itself. Because we’re in the culture, because we are . . . Continue reading →
Seminary students and future seminary students frequently ask how to discover whether one is called to pastoral ministry. It’s a challenging discussion because there are two aspects to the call to ministry, internal and external, and both take time to discover and . . . Continue reading →
My impression is that, over the last few decades, the historic Reformed reading of Romans 7 has taken one on the chin, as it were. Perhaps that’s not so. I’ve not done a survey to see how pastors are reading and preaching . . . Continue reading →
Eugene Osterhaven called this “the most difficult and disputed” article in the confession.1 As will appear below, the desire to revise this article has existed in the Reformed churches in both the Netherlands and in the USA since the late 19th century . . . Continue reading →
For some time the Federal Visionists have been arguing that no one should criticize the Federal Vision until the church courts ruled on it. This is a strange argument since, on that basis Luther couldn’t have replied to Erasmus (the Augsburg wouldn’t . . . Continue reading →
J. Gresham Machen (1881–1936) was a scholar of the New Testament who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. He, along with several others, left Princeton in 1929 to found Westminster Seminary. He was driven out of what is today known as the Presbyterian . . . Continue reading →
Thanks to the good offices of Ken Myers at Mars Hill Audio (no connection to Mars Hill Church), several years I learned about the work of Thomas de Zengotita, whose book Mediated was instrumental in helping me to understand some important culture . . . Continue reading →
Kim Riddlebarger’s new commentary on 1Corinthians is out from Tolle Lege. He has all the ordering information on the RB.
Philosophers at San Jose St are speaking out about the problems associated with Distance Ed. Here are some excerpts from their open letter, published May 2, 2013, in The Chronicle of Higher Education (HT: Chris Chelpka). They are reacting to a move . . . Continue reading →
The Directory FOR The Publick Worship of God CHARLES I. Parl. 3. Sess. 5. An ACT of the PARLIAMENT of the KINGDOM of SCOTLAND, approving and establishing the DIRECTORY for Publick Worship. AT EDINBURGH, February 6, 1645. THE Estates of Parliament now . . . Continue reading →
Kermit Gosnell has been convicted of the murder of three infant human beings. If you haven’t been following this story, Gosnell, according to Reuters, was “accused of delivering live babies during late-term abortions and then deliberately severing their spinal cords.” The jury . . . Continue reading →
