In unguarded moments, the young men I work with acknowledge their disengagement, and more than that, they articulate a confusion and even ambivalence about what it means to be a man. They can make jokes about traditional male identity until the cows . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
A Little Less Crowd-Pleasing
Can the Church commit itself to becoming more serious, more—may I say it?—devout, a little more courageous, a little less crowd-pleasing, a little less self-preoccupied, and a little less comfortable? Can the Church become the Church as it is supposed to be? . . . Continue reading →
Three Benefits Of Confessions
Although not particularly popular, either in our present secular milieu or in bearing our present ecclesiological amnesia, I continue to believe that having, holding, and requiring a confession is good for us. In short, a confession is good for our health, even . . . Continue reading →
No Truth Is More Needed Today
No truth today seems more self-evident in our culture than the fact that God is love. But this is not understood in its biblical setting where John immediately defines the nature of this love by saying that Christ was sent “to be . . . Continue reading →
It’s Not Divine Simplicity And Complexity. It’s Just Simplicity. Period.
In earlier generations simplicity was regarded as an indispensable aspect of an orthodox doctrine of God. Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists all confessed that God is “without parts” and the Belgic Confession even made divine simplicity its opening affirmation: “We all believe . . . Continue reading →
Todd Is Recovering The Reformed Confession
From the end of 2008 to 2013 I was the lead teaching pastor of a large non-denominational church in the northeast. During my time there I was told by various elders to lead the church in a more “broadly evangelical” direction. By . . . Continue reading →
A Peevish, Grudging Rancor Against Men
A peevish, grudging rancor against men has been one of the most unpalatable and unjust features of second- and third-wave feminism. Men’s faults, failings and foibles have been seized on and magnified into gruesome bills of indictment. Ideologue professors at our leading . . . Continue reading →
Rational Responses To Attacks From Advocates Of Homosexual Marriage
Attack 1: You’re intolerant–you reject me just because I’m different from you. Reply: Let’s be honest with each other. We both know you’re the one who rejects what is different from yourself. You reject the challenge of the other sex. Attack 2: . . . Continue reading →
Beyond Plagiarism: The Politics Of A Cult
Wilson was gracious to me in all of these private interactions, but he made it clear that if I disagreed with him publicly I would be undermining his work for God’s kingdom. As he wrote in one e-mail, “either you remain out . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On Instruments In The New Covenant: Restoring Shadows
It is evident that the Psalmist here expresses the vehement and ardent affection which the faithful ought to have in praising God, when he enjoins musical instruments to be employed for this purpose. He would have nothing omitted by believers which tends . . . Continue reading →
Lloyd-Jones On Antinomianism
A very good way of testing any view that you may hold is this one: Is this view humbling to me, glorifying to God? If it is, it is probably right. You won’t go far wrong if whatever view you are holding . . . Continue reading →
How Historic Reformed Worship Is Multicultural
Racial division is reality, and it’s a tragic reality, when it isn’t necessitated by language barriers. During the Apostolic era, Jews and Gentiles joined hands and worshiped alongside one another. The cultural gulf that had separated them was every bit as extreme . . . Continue reading →
They Were Just Rose Bowl Queens
Despite the received opinion to the contrary, I do not believe that cult prostit,ution was practiced in Greek (and Roman) regions of the NT era. The evidence bought to support this institution in the cities of Corinth and Ephesus was found wanting . . . Continue reading →
Money Could Be Other Than It Is
Available research does not support the view that the Federal Reserve System has lived up to its original promise. Early in its career, it presided over both the most severe inflation and the most severe (demand-induced) deflations in post-Civil War U.S. history. . . . Continue reading →
Behold My Servant
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so . . . Continue reading →
The Serpent Strikes At The Son
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star . . . Continue reading →
Sometimes A Miracle Is Just A Miracle
When it comes to Mary’s Magnificat, I find that I cannot take away the messages often proffered. Both the mode and content of her revelation will never be afforded me in any sense whatsoever. God will never speak directly to me, and . . . Continue reading →
The Principal Acts Lead To Others
By this faith, a Christian believes to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein; and acts differently upon that which each particular passage thereof contains; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the . . . Continue reading →
St Paul’s “Vile Speech”
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor . . . Continue reading →
Religious Liberty And An Indefinite Article
Over a century and a half passed, and the Supreme Court began to muddle the meaning, especially in 1947’s Everson v. Board of Education. Justice Hugo Black took it upon himself to change the phrase from “an establishment of religion” into “the . . . Continue reading →