Heidelcast 195: What Must A Christian Believe? (12) On Christ’s Descent Into Hell

Heidelcast

on October 25, 2021 | 4 Comments

In our survey of the rule of faith, i.e., the Apostles’ Creed, we have reached the fourth article: “suffered under Pontius, Pilate, crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell.” In this episode we focus on the last clause, “he descended into . . . Continue reading →

University Professor To Be Fired Because He Did Not Apologize For Students Rushing To Judgment

R. Scott Clark

on October 22, 2021 | 1 Comment

Theater students study the principle of the “willing suspension of disbelief,” meaning that in order to enjoy a show, audience members must suspend their critical thinking and believe that the performance onstage is really happening. To make sense of Coastal Carolina University’s . . . Continue reading →

Trueman On The Failure Of The Evangelical Elite To Understand The Cultured Despisers Of Religion Are Despisers Of Religion

R. Scott Clark

on October 16, 2021 | 3 Comments

There are times in history when Christianity feels its place in society coming under threat. As it finds itself pushed to the margins, two temptations emerge. The first is an angry sense of entitlement, an impulse to denounce the entire world and . . . Continue reading →

Gregory of Nyssa Against The Chiliasts

R. Scott Clark

on October 13, 2021 | 3 Comments

Now if we loudly preach all this, and testify to all this, namely that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, always changeless, always imperishable, though He comes in the changeable and the perishable; never stained Himself, but . . . Continue reading →

Laying the Foundation…. Twice

Patrick J. O’Banion

on October 13, 2021

Where do we begin our theology? The answer may seem obvious: We begin with God. Theology, after all, is talking about God; that’s literally what the word means. But things get a little more complicated when we get around to developing a . . . Continue reading →

Reminder: Wikipedia Is Not A Reliable Resource. It is Just Another Social Media Platform

R. Scott Clark

on October 8, 2021 | 3 Comments

Regular readers of this space will know how often I have warned about the problems of Wikipedia. The truth about Wikipedia is that it is not a reliable resource. I warn my students that if they cite it in their research they have . . . Continue reading →

With The Guilt, Grace, Gratitude Podcast On The Development Of Reformed Covenant Theology In The Reformation

R. Scott Clark

on October 5, 2021

Contrary to what some Dispensational writers have claimed the Christian church, in the post-apostolic period, has always taught covenant theology. The Epistle of Barnabas (c. AD 120) wrote a fairly mature covenantal explanation of the history of redemption, the unity of the . . . Continue reading →

Polycarp: A Model For Ministry In The Post-Christian West

R. Scott Clark

on September 25, 2021

Polycarp (Πολύκαρπος), whose name might be translated as fruitful was the leading pastor (ἐπίσκοπος) of Smyrna (today, Izmir, Turkey) on the Agean coast of Asia Minor. We do not know a great deal about his life. He was friends with Ignatius, the pastor of Antioch, who was (presumably) martyred about AD 115. Continue reading →

Valentinus, Marcion, And Contemporary Christianity

R. Scott Clark

on September 24, 2021 | 7 Comments

In our ancient church course we have been working through the basic ideas and foundational figures in the Gnostic movement of the second century AD.

What If What The Church Needs Is Not A New Christendom?

R. Scott Clark

on September 17, 2021 | 1 Comment

Christianity is greatest when…
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Heidelcast 190: What Must A Christian Believe? (8): “And I Believe In Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son, Our Lord”

Heidelcast

on September 6, 2021

This is episode 8 in the series, What Must A Christian Believe? In this episode we are considering the third article of the Apostles’ Creed: “And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, our Lord.” With this article . . . Continue reading →

On The Reception Of The Revelation Into The Canon

R. Scott Clark

on August 20, 2021 | 4 Comments

The story of the New Testament canon is a fascinating one, with many twists and turns. There are books that were accepted very quickly, almost from the start (e.g., the four gospels), and there are other books that struggled to find a . . . Continue reading →

Just In Time For The Latest ESS Dustup: With Presbycast On The Athanasian Creed

R. Scott Clark

on August 6, 2021 | 1 Comment

Even as we were recording this episode last night a new round of controversy (on social media) arose over the orthodoxy of the doctrine of the so-called “eternal subordination of the Son” or the “eternal functional subordination of the Son” AKA “eternal . . . Continue reading →

Dr David Noe Will Teach You Greek And Latin

R. Scott Clark

on June 23, 2021

Office Hours: Three Graduates Going To Serve The Lord

R. Scott Clark

on June 7, 2021

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 →

Heidelcast 183: What Must A Christian Believe? (1)—Our Ancient, Universal, Christian Faith

Heidelcast

on June 1, 2021

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 →

Clear Evidence Of Declining Academic Standards

R. Scott Clark

on May 31, 2021 | 3 Comments

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 →

The Role Of Philosophy In Theology: Ministerial Not Magisterial

R. Scott Clark

on May 26, 2021 | 1 Comment

Cards on the table: I am a little concerned by a trend that developing among evangelicals.

New Resource Page: The Ecumenical Creeds

R. Scott Clark

on April 6, 2021 | 1 Comment

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 →

The So-Called “Celestial Flesh” Christology Is Just Gnosticism

R. Scott Clark

on January 29, 2021 | 9 Comments

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 →

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