The lesson for the religious right should be obvious. The effort to bring religious values to bear on public life is similar to what Protestant modernists did seventy years ago when they advocated prayer and Bible reading in public schools, Prohibition, and . . . Continue reading →
Christ and Culture
Perkins On The Mediatorial Kingship Of Christ
Therefore Christ, as he is God, has under him, emperors, kings, princes to be his vicegerents; who therefore are called gods (Ps 82:1). But as he is Mediator, i.e., a priest, prophet, and king of the church, he has no vicegerent, vicar, . . . Continue reading →
How Christians Are And Aren’t Distinguished From The Rest Of Humanity
For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. 2 For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric way of life…4For . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 15: Belgic Confession 36 on the Civil Magistrate and the Advance of the Gospel
An HB Classic
What is the role of the civil magistrate in advancing the ministry of the church? The HC had mail from Jason about Belgic Confession Art 36 on the civil magistrate. At first reading it seems to teach that the magistrate needs to . . . Continue reading →
Chicken of the Sea?
Reformed Churches have long posted a rooster-shaped weather vane atop their church buildings as a silent warning to their members not to deny Christ (Matt 26:34). The Church By the Sea in St Petersburg, FL is a congregational church founded in 1944. . . . Continue reading →
The Oath, Comforts, and Hardship
If we change the terms “country” to Christ and “battle school” to church… (HT: Blackfive)
Heidelcast 1: BBQ And The Kingdom Of God
I’ve spent part of the Christmas vacation lightly editing and re-posting the old Heidelcast episodes. So, I thought I would re-post them here one at a time. It’s been interesting to listen to them develop. Don’t judge the whole series on the . . . Continue reading →
The Death of Santa
As a young boy I certainly believed in Santa. We made the annual cookie oblation and went to bed under the conditional covenant that he would not come if we did not sleep (or at least stay in bed). Nevertheless, I think I . . . Continue reading →
The Forgotten Second Point
In a controversial decision, at synod Kalamazoo (1924), the Christian Reformed Church adopted “Three Points” on “Common Grace” (Gemeene Gratie). They are: Concerning the favorable attitude of God toward mankind in general and not only toward the elect, the Synod declares that . . . Continue reading →
Re-Thinking the Crusades
The History Channel reminds us that on this date in 1095, Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade. Prior to 1979 it was more difficult than it is today to imagine such a thing, a leader of a world religion ordering a . . . Continue reading →
Malthus or Althusius? An Introduction To A Pioneering Reformed Social Theorist
We seem to live in a Malthusian age, i.e., an age of increasing scarcity or perhaps fear of scarcity, where concern over how to divide an economic (and environmental) pie of limited size (called a “zero sum game”) has replaced the idea . . . Continue reading →
The Myth of “Christian America”
Every four years (and in the interim) the question of whether we should regard the USA as a “Christian” nation re-emerges. There are three ways in which this question might be considered, sociologically, historically, and biblically-theologically. Under each rubric the case for . . . Continue reading →
2K-Kuyperian Rapprochement at Covenant College
Mike Horton, my colleague at WSC, spoke recently at Covenant College (Lookout Mt, GA) on the connections between a two-kingdoms analysis and the various neo-Kuyperian approaches to the relations between Christ and culture. Matt Tuininga was there and filed this report at . . . Continue reading →
Straining at Hermeneutical Gnats and Swallowing Exegetical Camels
Kathy Keller has reviewed the new book by Rachel Held Evans, A Year of Biblical Womanhood. Held Evans is frustrated with evangelical “complementarianism” so she set out to live as if there were no New Testament and as if Jesus’ hadn’t fulfilled . . . Continue reading →
Must We Change Our Theology to Vote for Mitt?
Veteran readers of the HB may remember that I expressed concern in 2009 over a comment by William Evans, The Younts Professor of Bible and Religion at Erskine College, about what he called the need for a “decisive break with the ordo . . . Continue reading →
Defining Nature-Grace Dualism
In the ongoing dialogue regarding the relations between “Christ” and “Culture” one of the slogans that gets tossed about concerns a “nature/grace dualism.” I see people using this expression as if everyone knows what it means or as if it means the . . . Continue reading →
The World is Watching: Cal Alumni Mag on Rushdoony
The theonomic and reconstruction movements pop up in the oddest places. I recall a PBS documentary in 1988 breathlessly hosted by Bill Moyers warning America about the dangers posed by the movements. Now, in the Fall 2012 issue of the alumni magazine . . . Continue reading →
Sympathy for Angus
First published 29 November 2012. Update below. By now you’ve probably heard or read about the comments by Angus T. Jones. If not, you can see them here. Through a couple of videos Jones tells the story of how he got into television . . . Continue reading →
"Tough Grace" Is Not Grace (and It’s Not Law Either)
In an unsigned editorial yesterday CT came out in favor of what it calls “tough grace.” The presenting issue or symptom is CT’s concern that Christian institutions are failing to be both “tough” and “gracious” simultaneously. The argument is that the fall . . . Continue reading →
Truth and Consequences: The Politics of Abortion
URCNA Pastor, the Rev Dr Brian Lee, a WSC grad, has another stimulating OpEd piece in today’s Daily Caller. “The course of my life roughly coincides with the post-Roe v. Wade abortion debate in America. The Supreme Court decision was issued on . . . Continue reading →