The great Cappadocian theologian Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329–c. 90) had addressed the same concerns expressed by the Nestorians decades before proclaiming: If anyone does not believe that holy Mary is Theotokos, he is severed from the Godhead. If any one should . . . Continue reading →
Christology
Why Christians Call Mary Theotokos (Part 1)
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Deity and also perfect in humanity; truly God and truly man, of a rational soul . . . Continue reading →
Why Does The Council Of Chalcedon Matter?
Dr. R. Scott Clark explains why the Council of Chalcedon matters for our theology today. Continue reading →
Christ Did Not Change But The Water Did
I was walking amidst the rows of desks as I was engaging the students in a discussion about the humanity of Christ. When I reached the end of the room, as I recall, I was leaning against the wall. Trying to drive . . . Continue reading →
That He Might Bear In His Humanity
Already in the New Testament, the church faced one of its greatest and deadliest heresies: the denial of Jesus’ humanity. The Greeks had room for men becoming gods and human-like behavior by the gods, but they had no room for a God-Man. Continue reading →
Things Not To Say About Jesus At Christmas (Or Any Other Time)—Part 2
A Third Error Previously I wrote that there are two classes of Christological errors. That is not strictly true. There are three: those that deny the humanity, those that deny the deity, and those that deny the union of the two natures . . . Continue reading →
Things Not To Say About Jesus At Christmas (Or Any Other Time)—Part 1
Like the celebrants of Festivus, Reformed folk have historically had a lot of problems with both the ecclesiastical calendar, including advent, and Christmas. It is not because we do not heartily affirm the incarnation of our Lord—we do!—but because neither the Scriptures . . . Continue reading →
On Churchless Evangelicals (Part 1)
I was once a churchless evangelical. As a young Christian I attended a medium-sized (three-hundred member) Southern Baptist congregation for a few years without joining. It was not really a problem. Of course they would like to have seen me baptized (as . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast Q&A: Is There A Reformed View Of The Military Draft?
Dr Clark takes a phone call and answers a challenging question about the military draft. Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: A Call And A Question About The Death Of God
Dr Clark takes a phone call and answers a challenging question about the death of God. Continue reading →
Advent As War
The Western world is on a fast track to outright paganism. And yet, for now at least, a semblance of the advent story has been left in tact. We still have a baby in a manger, a guiding star, amazed shepherds and . . . Continue reading →
Anabaptists, The Seed Of The Woman, And The True Human Nature Of Christ
Given their name, one might be inclined to think that the major point of dispute with the Anabaptists was infant baptism – after all Anabaptist means “re-baptizer.” The section on infant baptism takes up 306 of the 903 pages in La racine, . . . Continue reading →
Should We Refer To Christ As Lord And Savior?
You may recall the “Lordship controversy” which raged within evangelicalism several decades ago—and still resurfaces from time to time. The subject of the debate was whether or not someone could “accept Jesus as their Savior” but not make him “Lord over their . . . Continue reading →
A Most Enormous Blasphemy: To Say That Christ Is Not Enough
Is Christ a complete savior, or half a savior? Continue reading →
Ursinus Against The Antinomians, Libertines, And Similar Fanatics Who Deny That The Decalogue Is For Teaching In The Christian Church (4)
Obj. 4. Christ is not the lawgiver. Therefore his ministers should not teach and enforce the law. Ans. Christ is not the lawgiver, as it respects the principal office of the mediator; but he was and is lawgiver: 1. In as far . . . Continue reading →
It Comes Down To Authority
Jesus climbed out of the boat to find himself in an immediate battle. The demons were contesting the Lord’s authority. In Mark 5 and verse 7 we read that the Legion of demons were seeking to bind Jesus with an oath. The . . . Continue reading →
Jesus In Gethsemene
Rescuing Complementarianism
Those who study these things (e.g., historians, sociologists) write of three “waves” of feminism. First-wave feminism accounts for the women’s suffrage movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Second-wave feminism is associated with the legalization of birth control (Griswold v . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Contra The Star Trek Christology
And while the doors were shut. This circumstance was expressly added, because it contains a manifest proof of the Divine power of Christ; but this is utterly at variance with the meaning of the Evangelist. We ought, therefore, to believe that Christ . . . Continue reading →
Available Online: Warfield On The Emotional Life Of Christ
Thanks to Kim Riddlebarger for pointing us to this valuable resource. B. B. Warfield (1851–1921) was an outstanding scholar of the New Testament Continue reading