During my time as an undergraduate, I was required to take a number of Biblical studies courses. Many of the professors with whom I interacted, had little interest in seeing the Scriptures as a unified whole. Many of them openly mocked the . . . Continue reading →
Books
Review: Todd Hains, Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith: Reading God’s Word for God’s People
Not long ago, Reformed circles found it fashionable to criticize those on the other side of our intramural debates as being too Lutheran. If being too Lutheran means thinking anything like Todd Hains and reading Scripture with the care and purpose for . . . Continue reading →
Review of Brian Brock’s Wondrously Wounded: Theology, Disability, and the Body of Christ
Churches in the modern world must increasingly realize that we have to reckon with difficult issues involving mental wellbeing, disability, and related concerns. As a pastor in London, one of the world’s largest urban centers where there were fewer ways even just . . . Continue reading →
Review: Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian
Geerhardus Vos: Reformed biblical theologian, academic, churchman, son, husband, father, professor, colleague, poet, Christian. Danny Olinger’s biography Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian is a recommended read for pastors, students, and lay people. For pastors, particularly of the Reformed persuasion, this . . . Continue reading →
Review: C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, 1956 (Part 2)
Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will . . . Continue reading →
Review: The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by DeYoung
The Biggest Story Bible Storybook written by Kevin DeYoung and illustrated by Don Clark, is a lighthearted, playful, yet faithful summary of the most important story ever told. It is one in a series of illustrated story Bibles by the duo. The . . . Continue reading →
Review: C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, 1956 (Part 1)
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) Overly ambitious, I recently read C. S. Lewis’ Till . . . Continue reading →
Incorrect Item Delivered: A Review of Paul’s “Works of the Law” in the Perspective of Second-Century Reception by Matthew J. Thomas
When I was a student at Westminster Seminary California, I once ordered a used volume of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series online. When the package arrived, I was surprised to discover that in its place I had been shipped a commentary . . . Continue reading →
Review: R. C. Sproul’s Luther and the Reformation
With his characteristic clarity and story-telling ability, R. C. Sproul’s Luther and the Reformation: How a Monk Discovered the Gospel reveals the lines of connection between the personal crises of Martin Luther’s life and the development of his theological thought. As the . . . Continue reading →
Review: Kevin DeYoung’s Men and Women in the Church
In our historic moment, the categories of male and female are no longer assumed. What is a man? What is a woman? Neither is there consensus in the church on gender roles and relations. But to know yourself and glorify God you . . . Continue reading →
Review: Sproul’s Saved From What?
R. C. Sproul’s Saved From What was originally published in 2002 but was recently republished in 2021 after Dr. Sproul’s death in 2017. In this succinct work, Sproul answers the question prevalent in 20th century American evangelical circles: “Are you saved?” He . . . Continue reading →
Review of the Reformation Study Bible Student Edition, English Standard Version
Study Bibles have a special place in my heart. As a church-going but unbelieving teenager, I did not understand the Bible and had no interest in reading it. But when I became a believer at the end of college, I really wanted . . . Continue reading →
Twits, Scholars, And Thoughts On Theological Discussion: Thanks To Adonis Vidu
When I finished reading Adonis Vidu’s excellent new book on the divine missions to review it for the Heidelblog, I set a goal to interact with what I found most useful in the book. Rather that using the generic review tactic of . . . Continue reading →
Review: 150 Questions About The Psalter
In an age of TikTok and Christian pop music, the Psalms can seem like a dusty relic in a poorly visited part of a museum. Sure, many modern choruses are snippets of Psalms or rough paraphrases of them, but their tunes and . . . Continue reading →
Vidu On His Divine Missions: A Response To Perkins
It is an honor to respond to Harrison Perkins’ careful engagement with my latest book, The Divine Missions: An Introduction. His critique explores the compatibility of my work with confessional Reformed theology, concluding that there are a number of adjustments that may . . . Continue reading →
Review: Guy Richard’s Baptism: Answers To Common Questions
One often hears the refrain, “Doctrine is not practical,” and many Reformed folk might protest, but of all the doctrines, we can agree that baptism is the most practical. When my own daughter was born, I knew I needed to have a . . . Continue reading →
Review: Vos’ Natural Theology
No one can deny that we are living in strange times for Reformed theology. For example, we are hard-pressed to find enough professing Christians theologically astute enough to be actual Arminians. What is a Reformed person to do when there are not . . . Continue reading →
Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 4)
This series considers Adonis Vidu’s new book about relating a classical theology proper to God’s plan of salvation. So far, after surveying the book’s contents, we have thought about the covenant of grace and the nature of salvation concerning how those holding . . . Continue reading →
Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 3)
This series of essays reflects upon Adonis Vidu’s new book about the divine missions to see how we who hold specifically to confessionally Reformed theology can think about and appropriate his arguments. The first post surveyed the book’s contents, and the second . . . Continue reading →
Reconciling the Divine Processions-Missions Relationship with Confessional Reformed Theology: An Engagement with Adonis Vidu’s The Divine Missions: An Introduction (Part 2)
This series interacts with Adonis Vidu’s thought-provoking new work about the divine missions. His project, fitting well in the recent retrieval of classical theism, is to explain how God’s ad intra operations, namely the personal processions of each person of the Godhead, . . . Continue reading →