Richard Muller’s lost lecture on Jonathan Edwards’ doctrine of free choice. Continue reading →
Richard Muller—Jonathan Edwards And The Absence Of Free Choice: A Parting Of Ways In The Reformed Tradition
Lost Audio Recovered
Academic Stuff
Irenaeus: On Serving A God Who Needs Not Man’s Love
4. And therefore does the Scripture say, “These words the Lord spake to all the assembly of the children of Israel in the mount, and He added no more;” for, as I have already observed, He stood in need of nothing from . . . Continue reading →
Discounted To $2.99: The Kindle Version Of Olevianus’ Exposition Of The Apostles’ Creed
It is good to see evangelicals rediscovering the Great Christian Tradition, i.e., the broad stream of ecumenical (universal) Christian truth represented by the ecumenical creeds. The confessional Reformed churches, however, have always, from the beginning of the Reformation, been aware of and . . . Continue reading →
Catholicity, Confusion, And A Correction
In the mid-1970s, the original cast of Saturday Night Live featured a regular character as part of the Update sketch. The character’s name was Emily Litella. She was played by the late Gilda Radner. It used to be that local newscasts would . . . Continue reading →
Christendom Was A Renewal Of The Old Testament Theocracy
In terms of the relationship between Church and State the policies so far mentioned and the reactions to them may be classified between two extremes. There was the ‘totalitarian’ view set forth by Eusebius, caricatured by Athanasius picture of Constantius shouting ‘Let . . . Continue reading →
Commencement
It is graduation season. This academic year (and the one preceding it) has been rough on students and parents alike. If you have not been paying attention here are a few examples of what we’ve learned is taking place in your local . . . Continue reading →
One Arrested Every Day Since January 1, 2022
Jessica Chasmar has published what should be a blockbuster of a story. Continue reading
New Resource Page On Education
In the classical world, even though Pagans and Christians disagreed about the significance of the world they were studying, nevertheless, both shared similar approaches to pedagogy. What has happened to education since the mid-19th century, however, is nothing short of a revolution . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 224: From Every Tribe, Tongue, And Nation (2)—Introduction To The Canons Of Dort (2)
In this episode Dr Clark continues the series on the Canons of Dort (1619). There is a popular narrative among Arminians (and perhaps others) that the Arminians were the victims of an unprovoked theological, ecclesiastical, and political attack by Calvinists. Nothing could . . . Continue reading →
Mathison: When Reformed Theology Is Adapted To Enlightenment Presuppositions It Withers And Dies
In other words, if we want to know why there are so many Reformed theological giants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and comparatively few afterwards, a large part of it has to do with the later theologians adopting various forms of . . . Continue reading →
On The First Day Of The Week
Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. She runneth therefore, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple . . . Continue reading →
Cyril: We Gather On The Eighth Day With Christ And Receive His Body Sacramentally
With good reason, then, are we accustomed to have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but yet Christ visits us and appears unto . . . Continue reading →
Self-Censorship In The Post-Modern Academy
Each week, I seek out the office hours of a philosophy department professor willing to discuss with me complex ethical questions raised by her course on gender and sexuality. We keep our voices low, as if someone might overhear us. Hushed voices . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 215: Behind The Scenes Of The Collapse Of The West
We are interrupting our series on prayer, Our Father, to air to a talk I gave yesterday to the Escondido URC Adult Sunday School class. We also got an interesting question on the Heideltext line about the nature of the presence of . . . Continue reading →
K–12 Schools Are Downstream From The University
This outsized influence of the university on K–12 schools occurs not without precedent. Once before, our nation’s dominant philosophy of education universally altered. Prior to the 20th century, American education was almost universally classical in nature — great books, grammar and rhetoric, . . . Continue reading →
Created for Union: John Williamson Nevin And The Supper
On June 9, 1886, a funeral was held in a church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The deceased, John Williamson Nevin (1803–86), was a pastor, professor, and theologian in the German Reformed Church. Friends and family were in attendance as well as several theologians and professors of differing fame and reputation. None of this was unusual for a theologian’s funeral in nineteenth-century America. There was, however, at least one irregularity: A. A. Hodge (1823–16) gave one of the eulogies.1 Hodge’s late father, Charles Hodge (1797–1878), and Nevin were involved in one of the most prominent sacramental controversies in nineteenth-century America, yet the younger Hodge eulogized the very man who contested with his father decades before. Even now, the controversy and the theologies that gave rise to it live on long after the death of the major figures. Continue reading →
Trueman: It Was Not Chrysostom’s Administration Of The Sacraments That Led To HIs Death
Years ago, when teaching at a seminary, I was responsible for the course on the ancient church. In every class I have ever taught, I have regarded it as my chief task to introduce students to the great primary texts on the . . . Continue reading →
The Main Purpose Of The ‘Rule Of Faith’ Is to Help Readers Identify Jesus As The One To Whom The Scriptures Point
Jesus Christ is not the solution to a puzzle, whether that solution is derived by means of a sophisticated homiletical method or a sophisticated hermeneutical method. Jesus Christ is God the Son in person. Someone, not something, is the central subject matter and scope of Scripture. Someone, not something, should be the central subject matter and scope of Christian preaching. Continue reading →
Heidelcast 207—What Must A Christian Believe? (23): Life Eternal
This is the 23rd and final episode in the series, What Must A Christian Believe? In our survey of the rule of faith, i.e., the Apostles’ Creed, we have reached the twelfth article, “life eternal.” The twelfth article has been a part . . . Continue reading →
On The State Of Higher Ed In America And The Hope Represented By A New University
This is a bold and indeed a risky undertaking, but one that we wholeheartedly support. The educational establishment in this country is worse than moribund. It is a disaster—and not (to adapt an image from the philosopher David Stove) a static disaster . . . Continue reading →