Clinton writes to ask what we mean when we say, in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe a holy catholic church.” He reports that some of his friends will not read the Apostles’ Creed, the Athanasian Creed, or the Heidelberg Catechism because they . . . Continue reading →
It does not befit a layman to dispute or teach publicly, thus claiming for himself authority to teach, but he should yield to the order appointed by the Lord, and to open his ears to those who have received the grace to . . . Continue reading →
CHRISTMAS The Feast of the Nativity of Christ was called in OE Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ; the first appearance of this term in extant writing dates to the 11th cent., and parallels Dutch Kerst-misse. (The Latin term Dies natalis lies . . . Continue reading →
CHRISTMAS (from Old English Cristes maesse “Christ’s mass”).† Observance commemorating the birth of Jesus. In the Western church, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord was first celebrated on December 25 ca. A.D. 336, the date apparently chosen to counter the . . . Continue reading →
The law professors’ criticism of this administrative overreach barely scratches the surface of a central problem that has led colleges and universities throughout the country to inflict massive changes in college and university culture. In their opening paragraphs, the professors write, “We . . . Continue reading →
I’m not a Luddite. I bought my first computer, an Atari ST, in 1985. I began using email (CompuServe) before the internet was made available to the public. It was very exciting when CompuServe and AOL users could email to each other. At . . . Continue reading →
William Perkins (1558–1602) is among one of the most important English Reformed theologians. Arguably, he and John Owen (1616–1683) are the two most important English Reformed theologians. Remarkably, his works have been out of print and largely inaccessible for the centuries. Now, . . . Continue reading →
Now indeed these two kinds of theology are so different that they cannot truthfully be related to some one, definite head and shared genus. Of course the first kind of theology, which we have named divine and a prototype, does not belong . . . Continue reading →
Congratulations to my friend and colleague Kim Riddlebarger on the forthcoming publication of his excellent work on B. B. Warfield. I read this as a PhD diss. written under Richard Muller. It’s one of the best things I’ve read on Warfield. Anyone . . . Continue reading →
THE CREEDS OF FOUR COUNCILS RECEIVED. And, to say many things with a few words, with a sincere heart we believe, and freely confess with open mouth, whatever things are defined from the Holy Scriptures concerning the mystery of the incarnation of . . . Continue reading →
It cannot be too strongly emphasized at the outset that Calvin did not think of himself as “Reformed” in the sense of inner-Protestant polemics. Calvin was not a Calvinist but an Evangelical, and what he thought about Luther can only be understood . . . Continue reading →
Whereas our Savior is frequently, in Scripture, call’d the Son of God, the Socinians deny that he is so call’d with respect to his Eternal Generation, or being Begotten of his Father before all World’s; as also they deny that his Divinity . . . Continue reading →
By the end of the seventeenth century, there was a sense that sectarian groups – a list that included Socinians and Arminians, as well as Pietists — were increasingly establishing themselves throughout Europe to the detriment of true Christianity. As Elisée Géraud . . . Continue reading →
Our study began with Irenaeus’ contention that the belief in an immediate removal of the soul to the presence of God and Christ at death was a stumbling block to orthodox acceptance of chiliasm, and with his counter proposal that the chiliastic . . . Continue reading →
Wherefore we do not despise the interpretations of the holy Greek and Latin fathers, nor reject their disputations and treatises concerning sacred matters as far as they agree with the Scriptures; but we modestly dissent from them when they are found to . . . Continue reading →
Obj. 4. Further, In the Old Law God was praised with musical instruments and human song, according to Ps. 32:2, 3: “Give praise to the Lord on the harp, sing to Him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings. Sing to . . . Continue reading →
Telling the truth about the past is more difficult than it might seem but we can appreciate the difficulties by reflecting for just a moment on the controversy in Ferguson, Missouri. It’s a contemporary event of which there are at least two . . . Continue reading →
Perhaps a few words regarding the context of this service of reconciliation will not be amiss…. Note first of all that it follows the opening service. In this service the Lord and His people greet each other. After the greeting comes the . . . Continue reading →
The criticism of Classis Illinois was levelled especially against that part of our proposed Order of Worship which we called “The Service of Reconciliation,” more particularly against the elements of Confession of Sin and Absolution which we sought to combine organically with . . . Continue reading →
The earliest known example of a Catechetical work is the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” which Athanasius names among the “books not included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who are just recently coming to . . . Continue reading →