As the man said about the Grateful Dead, academic year 2020-21 has been a “long, strange, trip.” For part of the year we have been online only and for part of the year we have been in hybrid mode, with some of . . . Continue reading →
This is episode 1 in the series, “What Must A Christian Believe?” I chose this title for two reasons: 1) Since I began pastoral ministry in 1987 it is one of the questions I have received most often; 2) it is Question . . . Continue reading →
In classics, two major changes were made. The “classics” track, which required an intermediate proficiency in Greek or Latin to enter the concentration, was eliminated, as was the requirement for students to take Greek or Latin. Students still are encouraged to take . . . Continue reading →
Cards on the table: I am a little concerned by a trend that developing among evangelicals.
The word ecumenical means universal and the ecumenical creeds are the church’s articulation of the universal (or, in that same sense) catholic faith taught in Holy Scripture and confessed by the church since the time of the apostles. The apostolic church itself . . . Continue reading →
But, according to [the Gnostics], neither was the Word made flesh, nor Christ, nor the Saviour (Soter), who was produced from [the joint contributions of] all [the Æons]. For they will have it, that the Word and Christ never came into this . . . Continue reading →
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 worth seeking to understand for those reasons alone. We should think about Edwards for other reasons, however, He is . . . Continue reading →
There were a number of issues that I might have taken up in my response to Crawford Gribben and Chris Caughey’s essay, “History, Identity Politics, and the ‘Recovery’ of the Reformed Confession” in the volume On Being Reformed which space did not permit. . . . Continue reading →
The Swiss Brethren, who signed the Schleitheim, confessed (in article 6) that a Christian may not serve as a magistrate and the magistrate may not enforce religious orthodoxy and (in article 7) that Christians may not swear oaths for any purpose.60 The . . . Continue reading →
Though the erosion of Protestant liberties had already begun, the sessions of the Synod of Loudun give us a window into the government over-reach that was beginning to ramp up and would eventually take away all liberties of French Protestants. Continue reading →
But as surely as we who read approach the book in this context of expanded interest in the Early Church, Ferguson has himself worked from within an identifiable context. That context is his active participation in a branch of the Christian tradition . . . Continue reading →
In the Summer of 1570 the Reformed Reformation in Heidelberg faced a crisis. Several of the Zwinglians, who had sided with Erastus against the Calvinist order in the Palatinate, were perceived by their Calvinist opponents to be arguing for something that looked . . . Continue reading →
I stumbled upon this passage whilst looking for something else. It is an excellent summary of what was widely held and taught from the first half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century. There are more than a few Reformed, evangelical, and Lutheran folk who continue to repeat this narrative and it is one which I have been trying to overturn. Why? Because it is simply untrue. Continue reading →
Language regarding accreditation of religious insti- tutions of higher education in the Higher Education Opportunity Act could be interpreted to require accrediting bodies to accredit religious institutions that discriminate or that do not meet science based curricula standards. Continue reading →
Or if anyone should think this is untrue, I am not going to quarrel about it. After all, I am clearly dealing with Christians, who rejoice over their knowing the holy Scriptures without human guidance; and if that is the case, it . . . Continue reading →
The Synod of Dort is one of the most important events in the history of the Reformed Churches. From 1618–16 delegates from the Reformed Churches the Netherlands, the British Isles, and Europe attended (or, in the case of France, were prevented by . . . Continue reading →
Tish Harrison Warren, a priest in the ACNA (a denomination in the Anglican tradition), writes in Christianity Today, We have an impoverished and inadequate political theology. It took us generations to get here, and this one election, regardless of the results, will . . . Continue reading →
Chuck Tedrick is no stranger to Office Hours. He first appeared on Office Hours in 2009, season 1, episode 3, as a student at Westminster. Then he appeared in season 8, episode 22. Before coming to Westminster he studied at BIOLA University . . . Continue reading →
It is Reformation Day 2020. As far as I know, magisterial (Reformed and Lutheran) Protestants have been observing October 31 as Reformation Day since the 17th century. Longtime readers of this space will may remember my critique of October 31 as Reformation . . . Continue reading →