Calvin: Time For An Inventory (7)

In regard to the linen clothes in which our Saviour’s body was wrapped, I would, in like manner, ask how it comes, that while the Evangelists carefully enumerate the miracles which took place at the death of Christ, and omit nothing which . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: Time For An Inventory (6)

The next thing in order is the soldier’s spear. This ought to be one only, but perhaps, from having felt the fire of some alchymist, it has increased and multiplied. For four have come to light, besides those which exist in different . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: Time For An Inventory (4)

Then they have the waterpots in which our Saviour turned the water into wine, when he was present at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. I would fain know who was their custodier all the time, and afterwards made presents of them. . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: Time For An Inventory (3)

Let us begin then with Christ. As his natural body could not be possessed, (though some have found an easy way of fabricating miraculous bodies for him, in whatever numbers, and with whatever frequency they please,) instead of it they have collected . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: Time for an Inventory (1)

Augustine, in his work, entitled, On the Labour of Monks, complaining of certain itinerant impostors, who, as early as his day, plied a vile and sordid traffic, by carrying the relics of martyrs about from place to place, adds, “If, indeed, they . . . Continue reading →

Saturday Psalm Series: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Instruments in the Vulgate (Part 2)

The Latin Bible was a major formative influence on the way the Reformed theologians interpreted Scripture. The King James Version/Authorized Version (1611) particularly reflects the influence of the Latin Bible, but its influence reverberates in many English translations. It influenced their word . . . Continue reading →

Saturday Psalm Series: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Instruments in the Vulgate (Part 1)

We Reformed folk like to think that what we do now in public worship is what we have always done. This is especially easy to do when we are cut off from or unaware of the original sources and practices of our . . . Continue reading →

Church History: The Protestant Tradition

For Protestants, the word “tradition” can have a particularly negative connotation. It reminds them of the Roman Catholic Church, where tradition is considered as binding as Scriptures and references to it are often accompanied by unsubstantiated claims of secret, unwritten apostolic authority. . . . Continue reading →

Machen Worked & Played Harder Than You Do

It does seem to me that there can never be any true advance, and above all there can never be any true prayer, unless a man does pause occasionally, as on some mountain vantage ground, to try, at least, to evaluate the age in which he is living. And when I do that, I cannot for the life of me see how any man with even the slightest knowledge of history can help recognizing the fact that we are living in a time of sad decadence—a decadence only thinly disguised by the material achievements of our age, which already are beginning to pall on us like a new toy. Continue reading →

Review: Francis Turretin (1623–87) and the Reformed Tradition by Nicholas A. Cumming (Brill, 2021)

Nicholas A. Cumming is the Assistant Professor of Humanities at Pepperdine University. Francis Turretin (1623–87) and the Reformed Tradition is an adaptation of his doctoral dissertation at King’s College London. Published in the St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History Series, the book . . . Continue reading →

New Resource Page On Revivals And Revivalism

The nature, origins, and status of revivals and revivalism is a contested issue among scholars and popular writers on these topics. It is a question even whether revivals and revivalism are properly distinguished and if so how? There are narratives about revivals . . . Continue reading →

Why You Should Care About The Christian Past

Church History Is Family History

The value of church history is not always immediately obvious to everyone. In particular, Americans seem generally allergic to history. This is true of American Christians who are influenced by the American prejudice against history. Look at the History Channel (but only . . . Continue reading →