The “French Religious Wars” describes a series of eight civil wars fought out between 1562 and 1598. An estimated three million people perished, fifteen percent of the French population. Although the antagonists wore their inherited religious labels of “Protestant” or “Catholic,” social . . . Continue reading →
History of Reformed Theology
1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (6): A Tale Of Two Confessions
Our comparison and contrast of the WCF with the 2LC continues through chapters 4 and 5, “Of Creation” and “Of Divine Providence.” WCF 4.1 2LC 4.1 1. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His . . . Continue reading →
1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (5): “One Striking Omission”
Our comparison and contrast of the WCF with the 2LC continues through chapter 3, Of God’s Eternal Decree. In this installment we see some interesting revisions and one striking omission. WCF 2LC 1. God from all eternity did, by the most wise . . . 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 →
Remonstrants Take Away The “Free” In The Offer Of The Gospel
The Reformed disagreed with the Remonstrants on their view of whether the offer of the Gospel is really “free.” Continue reading →
Richard Muller—Jonathan Edwards And The Absence Of Free Choice: A Parting Of Ways In The Reformed Tradition
Lost Audio Recovered
Richard Muller’s lost lecture on Jonathan Edwards’ doctrine of free choice. Continue reading →
Redemption Is “Mission Accomplished”
Redemption was accomplished not attempted. Continue reading →
1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (2): Nature, Grace, and Revelation
Since I first indicated that I intended to do this series, I have been challenged repeatedly by Baptist correspondents to justify the legitimacy and necessity of the series. Some have insisted, nay, demanded that I abandon the project as worthless. More than . . . Continue reading →
1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession: Narrowing The Lens On Particular Baptist History
The discussion of the differences between Baptist and Reformed theology is a sensitive but important question. Thus, I think I should explain why I am writing this series. In my experience, some Baptists, especially those who identify with the Particular Baptist tradition, . . . Continue reading →
Read Thomas And See For Yourself
I was led to think that Thomas had been more or less mugged by Aristotle, indeed, I was given to think that Thomas was the source of much that ailed Christianity. In one tour de force, Van Til jumps from Aristotle, to . . . Continue reading →
Catholicity, Confusion, And A Correction
In the mid-1970s, the original cast of Saturday Night Live featured a regular character as part of the Update sketch. The character’s name was Emily Litella. She was played by the late Gilda Radner. It used to be that local newscasts would . . . Continue reading →
Imprisoned And Faithful: A Letter From Marie Durand
[Marie Durand] would be born in 1711 in Bouchet-de-Pranles into a community with a hoary past of linguistic, cultural, political, and religious autonomy. She was born into a church whose beliefs and practices were deeply rooted in the sixteenth-century Reformation and the . . . Continue reading →
Thomas and Rome on Predestination
To many Romanists, Thomas Aquinas stands out as the epitome of their tradition. His thinking was the basis for Trent, Vatican I and II. His teaching is extolled as the loftiest and most important Roman “Catholic” theology. In contrast, the average evangelical . . . Continue reading →
“Who Are You Calling Dull?”: The Aesthetic Prowess of Protestant Reformers
The earlier Protestant tradition that produced a Milton, Bach, or Rembrandt, and later a C. S. Lewis or Makoto Fujimura was neither anti-intellectual nor aesthetically dull. Luther, a Renaissance-trained polymath, was the first individual since Jerome to translate the entire Bible into . . . Continue reading →
“Edwards Injects Into Faith” In The Act Of Justification The Virtues Of The Christian Life
Edwards is very clear that faith does not justify a believer as a virtue or as forming any part of the righteousness which is the basis or ground of God’s judicial verdict. In this, he clearly stands with the Reformed tradition over . . . Continue reading →
Mathison: When Reformed Theology Is Adapted To Enlightenment Presuppositions It Withers And Dies
In other words, if we want to know why there are so many Reformed theological giants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and comparatively few afterwards, a large part of it has to do with the later theologians adopting various forms of . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 223: From Every Tribe, Tongue, And Nation (1)—Introduction To The Canons Of Dort
In this episode Dr Clark begins a new series on the Canons of Dort (1619). When people outside of the Reformed churches think about Reformed theology, they often think of the so-called “Five Points,” or TULIP. As it turns out, there is . . . Continue reading →
Coming In December, 2022: Beza, Polanus, And Turretin On Justification
From its inception, the goal of the Classic Reformed Theology Series from Reformation Heritage Books (sponsor of the Heidelcast) has been to present, in English, primary source texts in Reformed theology. This new volume is the sixth in the series, which began . . . Continue reading →
Westminster’s Youngest Divine: George Gillespie
Patrick Hamilton (1504–28) was a preacher of the gospel. He studied Reformation theology in Germany and went home again to Scotland, in 1527, to preach that gospel knowing that he would die for it, and in 1528 he did. He was lured . . . Continue reading →
Muller: Rethinking The Relation Between Kuyper, Bavinck, And Scholasticism
One writer notes that “Kuyper reflected critically on what he perceived as an increasing emphasis on natural theology through the early centuries of the Reformed tradition,” while another indicates that Kuyper’s views on common grace opened up a place for natural theology. . . . Continue reading →