Philip Benedict concedes that the Harmony was a more hopeful than a realistic expression of Protestant unity. But he adds that it was “one example of the conviction of many Reformed that the bonds of brotherhood ought to encompass the Lutheran churches . . . Continue reading →
History of Reformed Theology
Nobody Expects the Italian Reformation (link corrected)
But it happened, briefly and the good news here is that it’s back. Andrea Ferrari is a pastor of the Reformed Congregation in Milan, Italy. He’s also an author who has written (in English!) on one of the more significant Italian Reformed . . . Continue reading →
New Bavinck Institute Website
Thanks to Laurence O’Donnell (Calvin Seminary PhD student in systematics) for the heads up regarding the new Bavinck Institute website. They are featuring Ron Gleason’s to-be-released bio of Bavinck himself and an online journal, The Bavinck Review. Well done!
On Middle Knowledge: Classic Reformed Definitions of the Key Terms
Here are definitions of the basic terms of the discussion. The definitions are drawn from Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985). The English term “middle knowledge” is a . . . Continue reading →
Online: "The New Perspective on Calvin"
This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking piece of research by the Rev Tom Wenger (MA, Historical Theology), a graduate of Westminster Seminary California on the way Calvin is being presented in some contemporary Calvin scholarship. This piece grew out of his 2003 . . . Continue reading →
Martin Klauber Speaks at Westminster Seminary California (Updated)
Update 11 March 2010 Marty gave a fine lecture today and we recorded an episode of Office Hours after classes this afternoon. He highlighted the fundamental role that compromise played in the decline of Reformed theology. How, in two generations, did the . . . Continue reading →
Vos on the Relationship of the Mystical to the Forensic
Very interesting stuff at the OLTS
Petrus Van Mastricht on Scripture and Science
Wes summarizes some recent research on the 17th-century conflict between Reformed orthodoxy and Cartesian rationalism. There’s a chapter on this topic in RRC.
Reformed Orthodoxy and Missions
Thanks to Wes for this intro to the missionary (missional?) theology of Johannes Hoornbeek.
Augustine on Republication
Thanks to Brandon for publishing some very interesting and provocative (in the best sense) excerpts from an anti-Pelagian treatise by Augustine in which he accounted for the uniqueness of the Mosaic, national, covenant in a way that sounds quite like the later . . . Continue reading →
Knowledge DOES NOT Begin with Ourselves
Kevin DeYoung has a helpful post clarifying what Calvin actually says about the knowledge of God and ourselves. Calvin wasn’t indifferent. He doesn’t say that we can begin either with ourselves or with God.
Reformation History Resource: Zwingli Online
Zwingli is the forgotten Reformer. Hated by the Lutherans as a “sacramentarian” moralist and not terribly favored by the mature Reformed Reformation, he’s the ugly step son of the Reformation. Here’s a blog (operated by whom?) which collects Zwingli resources. (HT: Jim West)
Bavinck and the "Sharp" Contrast Between Law and Gospel
Thanks to Shane at the Reformed Reader for posting some stimulating quotes.
Post-Thanksgiving Cartoons: Reply to James White
Yes, I’m aware that James White has posted a caricature of my views. Thanks to everyone who wrote to make sure I saw that. Rather than trying to respond to all of his claims, let me focus today on just one to . . . Continue reading →
Was the Covenant of Works Gracious?
It is widely held in the modern period that it was. To deny that strikes many today as absurd, as impossible. The 16th and 17th century Reformed writers were not so troubled by that idea since they had much less difficulty than . . . Continue reading →
Calvin on Psalm Singing in Worship
As for public prayers, there are two kinds: the one consists simply of speech, the other of song…And indeed, we know from experience that singing has great strength and power to move and to set on fire the hearts of men in . . . Continue reading →
Guy de Bres Before His Martyrdom
Thanks to Wes for posting this extract from Guy de Bres’ defense of the faith before his martyrdom, at the hands of the Romanists, in 1567. de Bres was the author of the Belgic Confession, which is the confession of faith held . . . Continue reading →
Post-Reformation Bonanza
One of the great problems in the study of post-Reformation Reformed orthodoxy (scholasticism) is the relative unavailability of primary sources. There is the Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts, to which Westminster Seminary California blessedly has a subscription (thanks to our donors!). . . . Continue reading →
WSC Graduate Defends Oxford DPhil on Barth
Congratulations to Westminster Seminary California (’04) alumnus and sometime lecturer in Historical Theology at WSC, Ryan Glomsrud (MA, Historical Theology), on the successful completion and defense of his Oxford DPhil thesis on Karl Barth. Here’s a précis: Ryan D. Glomsrud, Karl Barth Between Pietism & Orthodoxy: . . . 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 →