Although the office of a priest and intercessor is to serve, it does not follow that the divine nature in Christ is inferior to the Father. It follows only that Christ was made less than the Father not in nature (physei), but . . . Continue reading →
Academic Stuff
Turretin: Fatherly Chastisements Are Not Judicial Punishments
It is one thing to speak of punishments properly so called and satisfactory, inflicted by a judge for the satisfaction of justice; another to speak of punishments improper and castigatory or medicinal. We do not deny that the latter are often appointed . . . Continue reading →
Boring, Muddledheaded, And Banal
Philosopher James K. A. Smith suffered through a period of profound depression. He found solace and insight in the writings of some of the great Christian mystics. And what he learned, he tells us, is that there is a wisdom and peace . . . Continue reading →
Luther And The Jews: From Over-Realized Eschatology To Bitter Disillusionment
I also noted on Friday that it is the unusual, not the usual, which is often most interesting to the historian. Luther’s 1543 treatise is not unusual; but this was not the only book he wrote on the Jews; and the other . . . Continue reading →
Turretin: We Obey Because We Live Not In Order To Live
Although Christ fulfilled the law for us as to obedience, it cannot be inferred that we are no longer bound to render obedience to God. It certainly follows that we are not bound to obey for the same end and from the . . . Continue reading →
We Would Have Done It Too
On September 27, 1933, the national synod of the German Evangelical Church met in Wittenberg, Germany. A parade of clerics in dark robes processed along the town’s main street, passing the Stadtkirche where Martin Luther used to preach. The metal crosses hanging . . . Continue reading →
The Confessing Church Opposed National Socialism
The Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche) constitutes a movement (from September 1933 onward) mainly within the German Protestant Church, whose very existence helped discredit the doctrinally liberal, extremely nationalistic, and racist anti-Semitic efforts of the “German Christians” (with roots in Prussia and Thuringia) . . . Continue reading →
Using An App Is Not The Same As Learning
A meaningful education is more than just facts and skills; it is the transformative formation of the whole person. This transformation can only happen through strong relationships, the cultivation of virtuous habits, and engagement with physical reality and human society. Education worthy . . . Continue reading →
Pelikan: It Was The Heretics Who Hellenized The Faith
It is even more a distortion when the dogma formulated by the catholic tradition is described as “in its conception and development a work of the Greek spirit on the soil of the gospel.” Indeed, in some ways it is more accurate . . . Continue reading →
The Last Work of a Student or the First of a Scholar?
That slogan puzzled me the first few times I heard it, but I think I understand it more clearly now. I was puzzled because the word scholar means “student.” It is a Latin word derived from the noun schola, or school. A scholar is . . . Continue reading →
Beeke And Pederson: Baxter’s Doctrines Of The Decrees, Atonement, And Justification Were Not Reformed
Baxter’s writings are a strange theological mix. He was one of a few Puritans whose doctrines of God’s decrees, atonement, and justification were anything but Reformed. Though he generally structured his theology along Reformed lines of thought, he frequently leaned towards Arminian . . . Continue reading →
Why Caution About Jonathan Edwards Is In Order
Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is America’s most famous theologian and perhaps its most famous philosopher too. He is an important and influential figure and is worth seeking to understand for these reasons alone. We should think about Edwards for other reasons, however. He . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Lent Is An Error That Crept Into The Church
For what kind of candour is it that quotes an epistle which scarcely one of the monkish herd would acknowledge to be genuine? Those who have read this silly production know that it speaks only of Lent, and chrism, and tapers, and . . . Continue reading →
Is Nineveh A Model For National Repentance?—Reflections On Modern Political Expectations
There are moments when the moral confusion of our age feels exhausting. As a Christian, I find it difficult not to grieve the normalization of abortion, the distortion of sex and gender, the redefinition of marriage, and the broader erosion of moral . . . Continue reading →
Review: Ramism And The Reformation Of Method: The Franciscan Legacy In Early Modernity By Simon J. G. Burton
Philosophy and the way that we frame issues has always played an important role in expressing the truth. We have an “apparatus” to our thought. We use certain conventions to be able to articulate what we mean even in theology. Whether we . . . Continue reading →
New Translation In Print: Rollock On Romans
Robert Rollock (1555–98) did not live very long but he was a hard-working Scotsman who left his mark on Reformed theology and especially in biblical commentary and the development of Reformed covenant theology. In his introduction to Rollock’s commentary on Ephesians, Casey . . . Continue reading →
Can Baptists Be Catholic? (Part 3)
My Baptist friends give two replies to the claim that they are not truly catholic. First, they appeal to their intent to be catholic. For example, in the introduction to the Second London Confession (1689) they say: “This we did the more abundantly to manifest our consent with both in all the fundamental articles of the Christian religion, as also with many others whose orthodox Confessions have been published to the world on the behalf of the Protestant in diverse nations and cities.” Continue reading →
Can Baptists Be Catholic? (Part 2)
When the ancient church began to use the adjective catholic (universal) to describe her theology, piety, and practice, and to distinguish herself from the Gnostic, Marcionite, and Montanist cults of the second century, the best evidence is that they did not read . . . Continue reading →
Owen Versus Tombes On Infant Baptism
The passages are these:— He was thirty years old when he came up to be baptized. Then, when he had the mature age of a teacher, he came to Jerusalem, so that all would reasonably accept him as a teacher. For he . . . Continue reading →
Can Baptists Be Catholic? (Part 1)
Whether Baptists can be catholic is a serious question that requires a serious answer. Before we proceed, however, we must define our terms. What is catholicity? Our English word catholic is really a Greek word, katholikos (καθολικός), borrowed by English. What does . . . Continue reading →