The Reformation brought about a significant shift in the theology, piety, and practice of parts of the Western church. One theological shift, which was evident in aspects of the practice of the Reformed church, was its insistence that the church was a . . . Continue reading →
Christ and Culture
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 16)
God the Holy Spirit worked so powerfully among the apostles (Acts 5:12) that people came to think their ill would be healed if they were laid on cots so that the apostle Peter’s shadow fell on them (Acts 5:15). Through the apostles, . . . Continue reading →
Distinguishing Spheres Affirms Christ’s Lordship Over All Things (Part 2)
The post-apostolic Christians understood what Jesus and Paul were teaching about the kingdom. They confessed universally, in the Rule of Faith, from the earliest decades of the second century, that God is “almighty” (omnipotens). They did battle with radical dualists, whether Gnostics . . . Continue reading →
Distinguishing Spheres Affirms Christ’s Lordship Over All Things (Part 1)
It is repeatedly argued (especially on social media) that unless one affirms that Christ exercises his dominion over all of life in the same way then one has denied Christ’s Lordship. Of course this way of arguing assumes what it has to . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Comedians Considering Christ?
In this episode Dr Clark plays clips from a popular podcast where two well-known comedians discuss Christ. Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 15)
Between 1513 and 1519, as he lectured through the Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and the Psalms again at the University in Wittenberg, Martin Luther (1483–1546) not only became an Augustinian anti-Pelagian in soteriology (sola gratia); in that same period he also recovered . . . Continue reading →
Dirt
You stood far off, not aloof but above, And from the heavens looked down with pity At workers toiling in futility Made the fatal choice to descend, for love. And step by step you practiced kenosis,1 Removing the diadem from your head . . . 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 →
Heidelminicast Special: On Smashing Satanic Statues
Dr Clark discusses the controversy over the placement of a Satanic altar and its destruction in the Iowa capitol building. Continue reading →
Lessons In Christian Nationalism From The Scottish Covenanters
Christian Nationalism has become something of a Rorschach test. What do you imagine when you hear this phrase? Is it a rallying cry to a glorious future in which God’s kingdom is manifested on earth? Or does it portend the hellish horrors . . . Continue reading →
Strange Versus Wilson’s Christian Nationalism
Thus, probably most appealing to many inclined in this direction is the approach of Douglas Wilson, who approves of Christian Nationalism in his latest book, Mere Christendom (83–92), and who argues using a sort of theonomic/Christian reconstructionist hermeneutic. Wilson asserts in his book . . . Continue reading →
Wilson’s Warrior Children
This entire article may be a fool’s errand. I mean, it’s easy to watch two men mud-wrestling from afar with the hopes that none of the mud lands me as a spectator. But there are some fights so nasty that the mud . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 14)
Continuing on article XIV: More important, however, than the Statement’s confusion about general equity is what the authors want to do with it, and what assumptions they bring when applying the moral law to civil life in 2023. The Statement says the . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 13)
The theocratic impulse is truly ancient. All the pagan nations of the Ancient Near East had state religions. The Israelites, Egyptians, and Canaanites all had state religions, as did the Greeks and the Romans. The latter were particularly vicious in enforcing the . . . Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 12)
In article XIII: On the Great Commission, the Statement says, Article XIII: The Great Commission WE AFFIRM that Christ’s commissioning of His Church to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that He has commanded includes . . . Continue reading →
Rosaria Butterfield Shows How Christian Citizens Can Speak Wisely Against The Spirit Of The Age
Rosaria Butterfield addresses the Durham School Board regarding parental rights. Continue reading →
Sub-Christian Nationalism? (Part 11)
In article XII: On the Vocation and Calling of Christian Officials and Legislators, the Statement says, WE AFFIRM that God extends the rule of Christ in the world by calling to and gifting Christians as His servants on vocation as civil authorities. . . . Continue reading →
Three Congregations That Grew During The Covid Lockdown
Three congregations that reportedly grew during the Covid lockdowns in 2020: Christ Church in Moscow, ID; Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA; and Trinity Church in Scottsdale, AZ. These three congregations have a few things in common. Each is led by . . . Continue reading →
Polycarp Vs. The Christian Nationalists
The Christian Nationalists are proposing an American Revolution. Some of them want, in place of free churches, voluntarily attended by free Americans, to institute a federal church, directly contrary to the First Amendment of the Constitution—”Congress shall make no law respecting an . . . Continue reading →
Christian, You Live In Babylon, Not Jerusalem
The Apostle Peter, writing to the churches of Asia Minor (i.e., Western Turkey) in the AD mid-60s, writes in his closing salutation, “She, who is in Babylon, co-elect with you, greets you” (1 Pet 5:13). Most commentators understand Peter to be alluding . . . Continue reading →