Ping-Pong Evangelicals And Middle Knowledge

Paul Helm blogs monthly and substantively. A certain entry concerns the question of God’s so-called “middle knowledge” (media scientia). He writes, I’ve heard it said that many Calvinist writers currently favor some form of the doctrine of middle knowledge. I’ve also heard . . . Continue reading →

Vos: Man Belongs To Two Spheres

Man belongs to two spheres. And Scripture not only teaches that these two spheres are distinct, it also teaches what estimate of relative importance ought to be placed upon them. Heaven is the primordial, earth the secondary creation. In heaven are the . . . Continue reading →

Vos On Divine Simplicity

What is God’s simplicity? That attribute of God whereby He is free of all composition and distinction. God is free: a) Of logical composition; in Him there is no distinction between genus and species. b) Of natural composition; in Him there is . . . Continue reading →

What Can We Know And How?

During the Watergate hearings, Senator Howard Baker asked, “What did the President know, and when did he know it?” However important that question was in the politics of 1973, it remains an important question in theology today. A friend writes to ask . . . Continue reading →

1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (4): Some Of These Things Are Not Like The Others

Our comparison and contrast of the WCF with the 2LC continues through chapter 2, Of God and of the Holy Trinity. WCF 2LC 1.There is but one only, living, and true God: who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure . . . Continue reading →

Review of Fred Sanders, Fountain of Salvation: Trinity and Soteriology

Fred Sanders is likely the best-known name in recent theology concerning the doctrine of the Trinity and rightly so. He has addressed the topic at the academic and popular levels, providing hermeneutical advancements and introductory treatments.1 His most recent book, Fountain of . . . Continue reading →

The Incarnation Makes All The Difference

In Dr. Strachan’s brief comment on this section, he states that “In another little-discussed reality, everyone who believes Scripture must confess the Father’s headship over the Son to some degree. It does no violence to the Son—truly God, truly man—to be “subjected” . . . Continue reading →

Reformation Day, The Trinity, And The Culture War

Some objected to the critics of the Federal Vision that the social crisis is too great that to be arguing about the Federal Vision. That objection has resurface in recent days in the wake of a social media post in which a prominent member of the Young, Restless, and Reformed Movement and a Baptist theologian has argued, “The Father is the Father because he sends the Son. The Son is the Son because he submits to the Father’s will. The Spirit is the Spirit because the Father and the Son send Him. There is no Trinity without the order of authority and submission” (emphasis original).  As one might imagine, this line of reasoning has prompted a considerable response. In response to the critics, some have re-stated the same argument made by the Federal Visionists and their enablers in 2008: “Are we really going to start arguing about ESS again? With all the other stuff going on in the world, this is the battle some of you want to fight? Again? I seriously do not understand some of you. Like, at all.” Continue reading →