When you think of your house, what is the first part that comes to mind? You probably envision the things you can more readily see. You think about the siding and how pretty your home looks from the outside. Or you think . . . Continue reading →
Interestingly, when Hitler was confronted in January 1940 with the observation that people might not know where he stood religiously, he suggested that, on the contrary, it should not be difficult for people to figure it out. After all, he asserted, he . . . Continue reading →
Meanwhile, [Petrus] Dathenus led a rather checkered life. His preaching soon brought him into difficulties, even with William of Orange, the leader of the fight against Spain. The prince wanted to grant Roman Catholics freedom of worship, but Dathenus strenuously opposed such . . . Continue reading →
For what kind of candour is it that quotes an epistle which scarcely one of the monkish herd would acknowledge to be genuine? Those who have read this silly production know that it speaks only of Lent, and chrism, and tapers, and . . . Continue reading →
Legend has it that because so many converted to Christianity under the preaching of Clement of Rome, even among the Roman elite, Emperor Trajan exiled him to the marble quarries in Cherson, a colony in modern-day Ukraine. There, under the hot sun, alongside thousands of fellow Christians all parched from their labor, Clement performed a miracle. Continue reading →
The History Channel reminds us that on November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade. Before 1979 it was more difficult than it is today to imagine such a thing, a leader of a world religion ordering a military crusade to conquer . . . Continue reading →
I remember standing in a parking lot as my dad panicked that gas prices approached one dollar per gallon. The panic that my dad and many other consumers experienced led to another fallout that remains with us today, the concern for mileage. . . . Continue reading →
Think of your most trusted confidant and ask yourself why you welcome his input. What causes you to trust his advice and be open to whatever he might say? What about that person makes you feel like even his hard feedback will . . . Continue reading →
The Acts of the Apostles contains some truly epic accounts of what Jesus continued to do and to teach as he worked from heaven through his appointed church officers (Act 1:1). We easily focus on Peter, who preached the first Christian sermon, . . . Continue reading →
There are moments when the moral confusion of our age feels exhausting. As a Christian, I find it difficult not to grieve the normalization of abortion, the distortion of sex and gender, the redefinition of marriage, and the broader erosion of moral . . . Continue reading →
John Owen (1616–83), often called the Prince of the Puritans, was a prominent Reformed pastor-theologian. Serious Christians continue to devote attention to his work, with many thoughtful readers turning to Owen expecting to benefit from his theology. Crossway, for example, is republishing . . . Continue reading →
The mere fact that a particular doctrine was held by an individual Westminster divine during the assembly’s debates does not automatically mean that doctrine was considered within the bounds of confessional orthodoxy by the assembly. Not everything in the WCF is a . . . Continue reading →
In a season where we are obsessed about inconveniences stemming from government shutdowns and market fears, a longer historical perspective with clearer vision is needed. Then, again, since the shutdown began, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is flat and the NASDAQ is . . . Continue reading →
At least four large sources of income fueled Geneva’s new economic engine during this period. First, revenue for Geneva increased dramatically from 1550 to 1570 primarily due to the large number of new citizens (refugees). In two years (1555-1556), Calvinist refugees who were flocking . . . Continue reading →
Of the same cognizance were those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, evidences of Jesus his being the Messias, and means of conveying the gospel through the world, and when both these were well established then those gifts ceased for ever. Read more» John . . . Continue reading →
You must not waver with regard to your decisions. “You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.” You shall love your neighbor more than your own life. You shall not abort a child nor, again, commit infanticide. You must not withhold . . . Continue reading →
My Baptist friends give two replies to the claim that they are not truly catholic. First, they appeal to their intent to be catholic. For example, in the introduction to the Second London Confession (1689) they say: “This we did the more abundantly to manifest our consent with both in all the fundamental articles of the Christian religion, as also with many others whose orthodox Confessions have been published to the world on the behalf of the Protestant in diverse nations and cities.” Continue reading →
When the ancient church began to use the adjective catholic (universal) to describe her theology, piety, and practice, and to distinguish herself from the Gnostic, Marcionite, and Montanist cults of the second century, the best evidence is that they did not read . . . Continue reading →
Significant numbers of American evangelicals have come to find ancient liturgical forms meaningful, a welcome alternative to the folksy informality typical of many Protestant churches today, especially ‘big-box’ nondenominational congregations. In liturgical churches, these seekers find a stronger historical consciousness and a . . . Continue reading →
Whether Baptists can be catholic is a serious question that requires a serious answer. Before we proceed, however, we must define our terms. What is catholicity? Our English word catholic is really a Greek word, katholikos (καθολικός), borrowed by English. What does . . . Continue reading →