A popular political commentator published a book a few years ago titled Shut Up And Sing, in which she argued that famous athletes and other entertainers should keep their political and cultural opinions to themselves and not seek to use their fame to . . . Continue reading →
In the early 2nd century one of the gravest threats faced by the early Christians was a movement that we know as Gnosticism. It thrived by radically revising Christianity. According to the Gnostics, the material world is evil, the Creator God of the . . . Continue reading →
I guess that Dutch Calvinists in Orange City and Sioux Center, IA do not often feature prominently in the New York Times but they did in an August 9, 2020 story by Elizabeth Dias. The dateline is Sioux Center, IA, one of . . . Continue reading →
It is time for the monthly Heidelcast call-in show and, as always, we have thoughtful and interesting questions on how to learn church history (and what to read), whether I agree with the 1646 edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith or . . . Continue reading →
The Covid-19 Shutdown of 2020 has begun to produce a reaction, at least in the USA. Recently we have seen demonstrations large and small in several states and particularly here in California. The various orders issued by governors, mayors, and county executives . . . Continue reading →
In the introduction to his new volume, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020) David VanDrunen defines a term and a concept that we must understand: Christendom. By Christendom I mean the vision of Christian . . . Continue reading →
Introduction The Covid-19 Shutdown of 2020 has begun to produce a reaction, at least in the USA. Recently we have seen large-scale demonstrations in several states. The various orders issued by governors, mayors, and county executives to restrict movement has produced a . . . Continue reading →
Things are so topsy-turvy right now it seemed like a good time to do another call-in episode, and, as always we have some great calls. I will announce the most interesting caller and the winner of the book. The Heidelcast are a . . . Continue reading →
Whenever there is a dreadful, large-scale event, e.g., a terrorist attack or the outbreak of disease, someone is sure to announce that this is God’s judgment on the world for our sins. Without a doubt, by nature, after the fall, we all . . . Continue reading →
In the spirit of the hour, I am again postponing the series on the doctrine of God, I Am that I Am, to talk about how churches are responding to the crisis before us. Things are changing so quickly that, after we . . . Continue reading →
Arguably the one of the greatest challenges that the church has faced has been how to relate to the prevailing culture. This was true before Christendom, when Christians were mostly ignored. It was true when we were being actively persecuted and martyred . . . Continue reading →
Introduction In researching the essay on sola scriptura I found myself reading the 44 articles of the Synod of Bern, which was held January 9–14, 1532. In attendance were 230 delegates, including Wolfgang Capito (c. 1478–1541) and William Farel (1489–1565). Two things . . . Continue reading →
Judicial laws may be judicial and Mosaical, and so not obligatory to us, according to the degree and quality of punishment, such as in Deuteronomy 13, the destroying the city, and devoting all therein to a curse; we may not do the . . . Continue reading →
H. Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962) is the slightly less famous younger brother of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). The latter was a favorite of two presidents, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. The former is most famous for his 1951 book, Christ and Culture, though his early work, The Social Sources of Denominationalism (1929) and The Kingdom of God in America (1937) remain influential. In the latter he perfectly characterized liberal Christianity as that in which “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” In Christ and Culture he offered a taxonomy of Christian approaches Continue reading →
Mark Galli, editor of Christianity Today has published an editorial calling for the removal from office of Donald Trump either by the Senate or at the ballot box. Of course this has provoked considerable reaction, not the least of which has been . . . Continue reading →
This is the portion of the trailer for the video By What Standard? released by Founders Ministry in which video, known in the business as “B-roll,” of Rachael Denhollander is used to illustrate the words, “always having the powers, the spiritual powers . . . Continue reading →
You asked for it, you got it. The Heidelcast is back after an 11-month hiatus. Did you miss me? Episode 130 was part of the series on the doctrine of God. If the Lord permits, we will get back to that series . . . Continue reading →
The German expression, Der Kulturkampf (The Culture War), originally referred to the attempt by Otto von Bismarck (1815–98), the German politician who created the modern, unified Germany, to suppress the Roman Catholic Church in Germany because he feared that Romanism in Germany . . . Continue reading →
The Presenting Problem For most Americans this past week has been very sad. For those in directly affected in El Paso and Dayton, it has been a horrible week that has changed their lives permanently. Loved ones and friends have been murdered . . . Continue reading →
Had you told me that as a grown man with two adult children that I would, for any reason, write the words My Little Pony (MLP) in an article (or anywhere) I would have advised you to seek psychiatric care. Nevertheless, here we . . . Continue reading →