When comparing the worship of the early church with that of the synagogue, we labour under this disadvantage, that, if the primitive church had any liturgy, it has not been handed down to us; still, as far as we can ascertain anything . . . Continue reading →
Academic Stuff
Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity in Early Modern England
In the Reformation and in the period of Reformed orthodoxy, there was no question whether the Christian faith is true. There were great and important questions debated between the Reformed churches and theologians with the Roman communion, the Lutherans, the Anabaptists, and . . . Continue reading →
Subjectivism As Scholarship
The epistle to Diognetus is an anonymous writing of an uncertain date. …Its claim to be include among the apostolic fathers rests on custom rather than right, for it is probably later than any of the other writings in this group, and . . . Continue reading →
An Aggressively Inarticulate Generation
(HT: Sung Yeo)
Mortimer Adler On How To Read A Book (And Why)
Few books are as needed today as Mortimer Adler’s How To Read A Book. It might be an encouragement, however, before you read, or while you’re between chapters, to watch Adler and Charles Van Doren talk about different ways to read and . . . Continue reading →
Standard Reformed Polemics Against The Use Of Musical Instruments In Worship
But all light into, all perceptions of, this glory, all experience of its power, were, amongst the most, lost in the world. I intend, in all these instances, the time of the Papal apostasy. Those who had the conduct of religion could . . . Continue reading →
The Church’s Closed Canon By The Latter Half Of The Second Century
This is enough to show that it is quite wrong to contend that there was no concern for marking out or keeping inviolate the contents of the new covenant Scriptures in the second century, or to claim that there was no generally . . . Continue reading →
Cromwell: Simul Iustus Et Peccator
Judging by his serene expression, he certainly doesn’t look like a man who should have changed England’s politics, culture and history forever. I refer to Oliver Cromwell and his expression preserved for the ages in his death mask on display at Warwick . . . Continue reading →
The Irony Of The Coming Dark Age (Updated Again)
The old schoolbook story of the middle ages describes the entire period as the “dark ages.” Of course that’s rubbish. There was a period of chaos in the early medieval period but there were also periods of remarkable learning and the renewal . . . Continue reading →
New Article: Law And Gospel In Early Reformed Orthodoxy
Richard Muller recently celebrated his 65th birthday to mark that occasion and as part the 20th anniversary of the PhD program at Calvin Seminary, he was presented with a Festschrift (celebration book) in his honor. Jordan Ballor has the details on Opuscula . . . Continue reading →
Liberal Education, Religious Freedom, And Weak Arguments (Updated Again)
Originally Published October 8, 2013. Updates below. The University of South Florida is at the center of another debate about religious freedom (HT: David Murray). This time it involves a planned event at which Dr. Rosaria Butterfield, a former Lesbian, is to . . . Continue reading →
Is Republication Really That Confusing?
A pastor writing a Q&A column in a small Canadian religious newspaper answered a question about republication recently by writing “as a general rule, Reformed Christians agree that the Covenant of Works was established at the start with Adam, and with all . . . Continue reading →
The History Of Covenant Theology
Until recently, it was widely held that covenant theology was created in the middle of the seventeenth century by theologians such as Johannes Cocceius (1609–1669). In fact, covenant theology is nothing more or less than the theology of the Bible. It is . . . Continue reading →
The Didache On The Baptism Of Converts
Now concerning baptism, baptize as follows: after you have reviewed all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in running water. But if you have no running water, then baptize in . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerilla: Impactful And Efforting
English is a wonderfully flexible and acquisitive language. Estimates vary but as the British and European colonial powers that harvested antiques and riches from the Mediterranean, so English has harvested a significant number of words from a variety of sources. English is . . . Continue reading →
Ignatius On The Atonement
Neither the ends of the earth nor the kingdoms of this age are of any use to me. It is better for me to die for Jesus Christ than to rule over the ends of the earth. Him I seek, who died . . . Continue reading →
Cyril Of Alexandria On Substitutionary Atonement
He had undergone, for our sakes, though innocent, the sentence of death. For, in His own Person, He bore the sentence righteously pronounced against sinners by the Law. For He became ‘a curse for us’, according to the Scripture: ‘For cursed is . . . Continue reading →
Heroes, Villains, And Pretty Packages
The dead, in other words, are people too. Scoring points on their failings does not seem to be particularly charitable or self-interested (since one day we won’t be around to defend ourselves or the limitations of our historical moment). It is not . . . Continue reading →
The Illiberalism of The Late Modern Academy
In the conventional story of the 1925 Scopes Trial, popularized in the 1960 play and film, Inherit the Wind, William Jennings Bryan is the midwestern rube unable and more importantly unwilling to account for and afraid of new learning. WJB is portrayed . . . Continue reading →
Grace And Election In The Late 90s AD
Let us then draw near to Him with holiness of spirit, lifting up pure and undefiled hands unto Him, loving our gracious and merciful Father, who has made us partakers in the blessings of His elect. For thus it is written, “When . . . Continue reading →