13. Our indulgence ought to extend much farther in tolerating imperfection of conduct. Here there is great danger of falling, and Satan employs all his machinations to ensnare us. For there always have been persons who, imbued with a false persuasion of . . . Continue reading →
Church History
Trent On Communion In One Species
For though Christ the Lord at the last supper instituted and delivered to the Apostles this venerable sacrament under the forms of bread and wine, yet that institution and administration do signify that all the faithful are by an enactment of the . . . Continue reading →
Resurgent Catharism?
In the 2nd century, the Fathers faced one of the greatest threats ever to confront the Christian faith and church: Gnosticism. The gnostics taught a hierarchical scale of being in which salvation meant being delivered from our status as creatures. Salvation was . . . Continue reading →
Cartwright: The Bishop Of Rome Grew Beyond The Limits Of Christian Ministry
Indeed to apply it to the true Roman Church, or the right succession in the Apostolic see, which was in the days of S. John, or in the time of the Christian Emperors, it were both folly and blasphemy: but to apply . . . Continue reading →
The Myth of the Papacy
You know by now that Benedict XVI has abdicated the papacy and the college of Cardinals have been preparing to elect a new pope. on Tuesday they are set to begin the process of actually electing a new pope. Over the next . . . Continue reading →
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Benedict XVI, who turns 86 in April, will abdicate the papacy at the end of this month. The election of a new pope is a good opportunity for a brief tutorial on some of the aspects of the papacy that the mass . . . Continue reading →
How To Fence the Lord’s Table (2)
How to Fence the Lord’s Table (Part 1) There is irony in fencing the Lord’s Table. What should be a joyous celebration, after due preparation of course, and a communion of believers with their risen Lord and with one another, is for . . . Continue reading →
I Get Questions: How to Fence the Lord’s Table?
After the Central Valley Conference last month I promised to answer some of the questions submitted for the Q/A for which we didn’t have time. One of them asked essentially: whom should Reformed Churches admit to the Lord’s Table? There are three . . . 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 →
Bob Godfrey Lectures on the Ancient Church
W. Robert Godfrey has taught church history at the seminary level since 1974. As I like to point out, I was in Jr High (which was Middle School used to be called) when Bob started teaching. Antiquity, however, is useful in teaching . . . Continue reading →
Glimpses Into Modern Missions in Jerusalem
David Zadok is a WSC grad who is working in Israel with HaGefen Publishing. You can hear interviews with David here and here. The following is from his latest newsletter:
New: Histories and Fallacies
Just picked this up in the Bookstore at Westminster Seminary California and plan to read it today. It looks terrific. I was reading it when I was interrupted by Bob Godfrey, who stopped into the studio for an interview (to be broadcast . . . Continue reading →
Roman Catholic Scholar Converts to Evangelical Faith
Re-posted from c. 2007 Dateline Paris, 1534. © Paris News Service By Guy LaFontaine Jean Calvin, 25, of Noyon, a leading scholar of the classics and law student in the University of Paris, has reportedly converted to the evangelical cause. A classicist . . . Continue reading →
A Child's History of the Church (Links Corrected)
A colleague once said that when he begins studying a topic from scratch he begins with children’s books because there authors have to be very clear about what they are saying. When ministers speak directly to the children in the congregation the . . . Continue reading →
(Updated) Which Church History Survey Should I Read? (UPDATED)
I get this question frequently but the question usually rests on a premise I don’t share and so I don’t give the answer that most of my correspondents are expecting. The question usually assumes that there are a few good surveys of . . . Continue reading →
Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Est
Extra ecclesiam nulla salus est is an ancient Christian slogan that means, in English, “outside of the church there is no salvation.” So says the summary of the teaching of the ancient Latin church father Cyprian.1 A version of that view is . . . Continue reading →
Update on WSC Alumnus Patrick O'Banion
Patrick O’Banion is one of the several outstanding graduates of the MA (Historical Theology) program, Westminster Seminary California. At my request he checked in and provided this update: Teaching: I was recently hired as an assistant professor at Lindenwood University in St . . . Continue reading →
Happy Birthday St Augustine
Today is St Augustine’s birthday (354 AD). In that connection I should mention the upcoming publication of Simonetta Carr’s biography of Augustine for children. Few figures in Western history are as important as Augustine. He is one of the early church fathers . . . Continue reading →
On Arminius, Confessional Subscription, and the Limits of Tolerance
Jacob Arminius (d. 1609) thought of himself as Reformed. He wanted to be regarded as Reformed. He graduated from the seminary in Geneva. He studied with that stalwart of Reformed orthodoxy, Theodore Beza (d. 1605). He was a Reformed minister in good . . . Continue reading →
Pierre Viret in Print
Thanks to Andrew Myers for pointing us to these resources for those of us interested in one of Calvin’s colleagues in Geneva and in one of the more interesting, if overlooked, figures in the Reformation.