Schism is a serious sin. Presbyterian history gives us no warrant to treat the visible church as a purely voluntary association from which Christians may withdraw whenever they are disappointed, inconvenienced, or persuaded that they could construct something better. This is why . . . Continue reading →
These were the top five posts for the week of August 31–September 6, 2026. Continue reading →
Reformed Heritage Study Center (RHSC) is an exciting new online learning platform providing foundational and formational instruction in the Bible, theology, and the liberal arts. Qualified instructors offer personalized college-level courses and other learning experiences from a reliably biblically faithful perspective. Students . . . Continue reading →
Recently pastor Brian Borgman gave a lecture at a Baptist seminary criticizing the distinction between law and gospel. In that lecture he repeated a number of criticisms that continue to crop up despite the fact that they have been answered repeatedly. For . . . Continue reading →
John Calvin is frequently recruited into the current debates about schism, usually by isolating one side of his ecclesiology. Calvin’s severe warnings against abandoning the visible church are quoted as though he regarded nearly every institutional separation as schismatic. Alternatively, his denunciations . . . Continue reading →
Over one million violent crimes were committed in the United States in 2025. The staggering number of perpetrators and victims in the United States means it is likely you attend church with someone whose life has been changed by violence. You probably . . . Continue reading →
The Protestant Reformation undeniably divided the visible church in Western Europe. Congregations ceased communion with Rome, rejected papal jurisdiction (the pope), reconstituted worship according to Scripture and the early church,1 and established new ecclesiastical governments. In that descriptive sense, the Reformation involved . . . Continue reading →
Come learn covenant theology! Continue reading →
In order to interpret the text of the Scots Confession and the Westminster Confession we must decide on a hermeneutic, a way of interpreting confessional texts. Often in the interpretation of confessional documents the temptation is to try to interpret a specific passage without reference to the broader context, but that is no way to read a text. Continue reading →
These were the top five posts for the week of August 24–30, 2026. Continue reading →
Of the three controversies surveyed briefly in this chapter, perhaps none of them better illustrates the diminished influence of the Reformed confession, and the rise of the QIRC in the conservative Reformed churches, than the thirty-year struggle over the doctrine of justification. . . . Continue reading →
It is my opinion that one of the more detrimental developments in modern evangelicalism has been the rise of the celebrity pastor. While the church has always been tempted to elevate gifted and influential leaders beyond their proper place, our digital age . . . Continue reading →
Church division has troubled Christians from the earliest generations of the church. The New Testament repeatedly warns against factions, quarrels, false teachers, and those who disturb the unity of Christ’s body. Those warnings did not become less urgent after the death of . . . Continue reading →
In a previous article, we considered the argument against schism in the Old Testament. Redeemed Zoomer’s (RZ) argument does not rest on the Old Testament alone. He also maintains that Jesus and the apostles remained within the temple and synagogue system until . . . Continue reading →
“Brothers, there is reformation happening in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC). And that is something that we ought to be thankful for.” This statement was not made at the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. It . . . Continue reading →
These were the top five posts for the week of August 17–23, 2026. Continue reading →
As the baby-boomer generation came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, it led a broad cultural and religious reaction to traditionalism in various spheres. This is the era that brought us Woodstock and post-Vatican II guitar masses. The evangelical version of . . . Continue reading →
“David sure seems to complain a lot.” These were the words of thirteen-year-old yours truly after reading through the Psalms for the first time. Even in my unsophisticated (and apparently unsympathetic) reading, it was obvious that many of the Psalms contained lament. . . . Continue reading →
Continuing our discussion on the recent debates over schism, we now turn to what the Old Testament has to say. Redeemed Zoomer’s (RZ) case against Protestant separation rests heavily on the Old Testament. In a debate with Douglas Wilson hosted by Reformation . . . Continue reading →
I always appreciate clarity and directness. These are not missing in the discussions of schism with Richard Ackerman, the Redeemed Zoomer. He has stated his position in the strongest possible terms in an X (formerly Twitter) post on July 20, 2026: “No . . . Continue reading →
