Sometime back Howard wrote to ask, “How and when did Arminianism become the predominate view?” That’s a good question. First, we should distinguish between Jacob Arminius (James Hermanzoon) and the Arminians (or the Remonstrants). Relative to the conclusions Arminian/Remonstrant theology later reached, Arminius . . . Continue reading →
In view of the Martin Luther King holiday I’m re-posting the interview with Mika Edmondson about his work on Dr King. § Americans are in the midst of a national discussion about race. It’s a difficult discussion, one that is not always . . . Continue reading →
Yes and yes. No, it’s not in the Scofield Reference or Ryrie Study Bibles. It seems that some of our dispensational friends have yet to read the memo. See this example sent to me a by a friend. This writer, whom I do . . . Continue reading →
…the future of the evangelical church as glimpsed from Orange County might be no church at all. Robert Schuller’s brand of worship might just turn out to be nothing more than a spiritual fad. As the generation that embraced it—middle-class, baby-boomer whites . . . Continue reading →
According to a statement released by Family Radio, Harold Camping (1921–2013) has died (HT: Sarah Pulliam Bailey—Her RNS story) When the internet became available to the public, after connections became fast enough to allow pages to download in less than 30 minutes, . . . Continue reading →
. . . criticism of certain leaders of evangelicalism who seek to exert massive influence in the evangelical world but who eschew proper accountability to that world is not identical with criticism of God’s people tout court. It is specifically criticism of . . . Continue reading →
A while back some of us were discussing the problem of political correctness on university campuses, freedom of thought and speech, and speech codes. If universities were meant to be places of open enquiry, where theories may be proposed and debated, then . . . Continue reading →
Second, I was struck by the fact that the last chapter – on post-confessional, mainline Presbyterianism – indicated just how irrelevant Presbyterianism has become in its liberal forms. With dull preaching, and always appearing to be a day late and a dollar . . . Continue reading →
Dad had been a staunch defender of a somewhat cramped version of Calvinism formed by his upbringing in the Gereformeerde Kerk in the Netherlands. Early on, his parents had put the kibosh on his aspirations to ministry; unless he had a distinct . . . Continue reading →
Kim Riddlebarger spent his summer sabbatical profitably and one of the things he did was to write a series of fascinating posts on evangelicalism in Orange County, California during the 1970s—2013. It’s not an exhaustive account but it does illustrate well the . . . Continue reading →
Americans are in the midst of a national discussion about race. It’s a difficult discussion, one that is not always conducted well either by politicians or preachers. Dr Martin Luther King is not only a central figure in this discussion but he . . . Continue reading →
The mentality of fundamentalism sometimes crops up where one would least expect it; and there is no better illustration of this than the inimitable New Testament scholar, J. Gresham Machen. Machen was an outspoken critic of the fundamentalist movement. He argued with . . . Continue reading →
Chris Gordon is not only a dear friend and my pastor at Escondido URC but he also hosts a daily radio program, Abounding Grace Radio. So, other than preaching twice most Lord’s Days, hosting a daily radio program, counseling, teaching a catechism class, . . . Continue reading →
There several ways to classify American denominations. We could distinguish between “liberal” (those who no longer believe Scripture to be God’s inerrant Word or the historic Christian faith) and “conservative” (those who affirm inerrancy and historic Christianity). As Darryl Hart argues in . . . Continue reading →
UPDATE Below 7/9/13 Original Post July 2, 2013 On June 20, 2013 the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, the mainline (liberal) and oldest Dutch Reformed denomination in the US removed the “conscience clause” from its Book of Church Order. . . . Continue reading →
D. G. Hart’s latest is just out: Calvinism: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013). It just arrived in the post so I’ve not had time to read it and we have a dinner guest arriving any minute. I hope to . . . Continue reading →
You will have a battle, too, when you go forth as ministers into the church. The church is now in a period of deadly conflict. The redemptive religion known as Christianity is contending, in our own Presbyterian Church and in all the . . . Continue reading →
I’m cleaning out my office and clearing out a great lot of books One of the volumes I found is Carl F. H. Henry, Basic Christian Doctrines (New York: Holt, Rhinehart, Winston, 1962). Included in this collection of very brief entries are G. . . . Continue reading →
Have you ever stared at a word on the page until it lost all context and began to move around or just seem silly? That happens to writers. Consider the word “critical.” It’s a word we use frequently and in a variety . . . Continue reading →
In a piece that appears in Christianity Today online Ted Olson argues that a plan, which was cancelled, to free the Korean hostages in Afghanistan by taking hostage the families of the kidnappers is a bad idea because the Apostle Paul wouldn’t . . . Continue reading →