Each fall I teach a course on the ancient church and a seminar on patristics. For the first half of the seminar, we use Michael Holmes’s third edition of the Apostolic Fathers, a collection of texts mainly from the second century. It did . . . Continue reading →
Under the types and shadows of the Old Testament, before the death of Christ, circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant promise to be a God to believers and to their children. That bloody sign and seal has been replaced by a . . . Continue reading →
Having looked in part one at how the Reformed church has recognized Scripture’s distinction between the law and the gospel, we will look in this article at how this distinction plays out in warning passages. A Look at Some Warning Passages There . . . Continue reading →
“Word and sacrament piety” is perhaps an expression with which you are unfamiliar. It is a shorthand way of saying that the way God has ordained to work in the lives of his people is through the ministry of the Word, chiefly . . . Continue reading →
There is concern by some in the Reformed community that there is too much emphasis on grace in the doctrine of sanctification, and not enough emphasis on obedience and even godly fear. The question has arisen about how this matter should be addressed. Continue reading →
News & Announcements
Happy New Year from the Heidelberg Reformation Association! This is the eighteenth year of the Heidelblog, and since 2012 we have had more than 13.3 million views and four million visitors. Thank you to our loyal readers and supporters. If you are . . . Continue reading →
The case of the murder of Charlie Kirk is a stark example of the amateur confusion of research presented for research conducted. The most probable explanation for the murder of Charlie Kirk is that it was done by a lone gunman, just . . . Continue reading →
As a young boy I certainly believed in Santa. We made the annual cookie oblation and went to bed under the conditional covenant that he would not come if we did not sleep (or at least stay in bed). Nevertheless, I think . . . Continue reading →
Ben Shapiro recently gave a speech in which he issued a strong indictment against conspiracy theories and those who traffic in them. He warned, [t]he conservative movement is also in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle . . . Continue reading →
Part of Saturday was spent trading tweets with Matthew Milliner, who teaches Art History at Wheaton College. We had a good, genial conversation from two different confessional traditions. I am not sure, but judging by his arguments, I inferred that Matthew may . . . Continue reading →
And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communion, that is, the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers. (Acts 2:42)1 Teaching The first words to consider here are “devoting” and “teaching.” The first expression . . . Continue reading →
Matt Tuininga, a friend and former student, wrote an interesting post at Christian in America in which he tells about the conflict between the consistory and some of the people in Geneva over the question of how the people should name their . . . Continue reading →
Book Review
As 2025 draws to a close, you may know by now that this is the 1,700th anniversary of the promulgation of the creed of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. This was a monumental event, first because the Council of Nicaea . . . Continue reading →
Being included into the visible, Christ-confessing covenant community (the church) is only the beginning of the story of our Christian life. There is still the living of the Christian life. As the Reformed churches understand Scripture, the church is essential to the . . . Continue reading →
When discussing the success of Mormons, who prefer to be known as Latter Day Saints, in spreading their religion, people point to four points of persuasion: They have good families. They are nice people. They have had an intense religious experience. They . . . Continue reading →
You have probably seen the recent television commercial starring Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson in which Davidson is talking to an AI bot about whether he should change his name. He floats a couple of possibilities to the bot but ultimately decides . . . Continue reading →
“So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God” (Athanasian Creed). How can God be truly one and also three distinct, co-eternal subsistences or persons is a mystery; and yet we are bound to say that he is. Continue reading →
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut 6:4) In contrast to the polytheistic religions of her neighbors, Israel was made deeply conscious of the fact that there is only one God (hence, the term, monotheism). The monotheistic . . . Continue reading →
If you ever want to get the ear of a crowd just whisper these words: I have a secret. The crowd will come to order quickly and listen with rapt attention. It is almost as if we are wired to hear secrets. . . . Continue reading →
One of my favorite radio programs is This American Life starring Ira Glass. I stumbled across this show several years ago, and for a while I did not understand why I was so attracted to it. Glass does not have a classic . . . Continue reading →
