In other words, to engage in controversy is not merely to be one of Machen’s warrior children. It is to belong to the church militant. Read more» Jack Miller | “The Old Life Controversialist” RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource . . . Continue reading →
Of Nice and Men
Orwell: The Danger Of An All-Prevailing Orthodoxy
At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is ‘not done’ to . . . Continue reading →
Disagreeing With You Isn’t Unloving
Have you ever noticed that when differences of opinion come up between the confessionalists and the “can’t we all get along” (hereafter abbreviated “cwaga”) folks, that incredibly shrill and unloving voices come from the latter group directed towards the former group, all . . . Continue reading →
Machen On Revival And Controversy
I do not know all the things that will happen when the great revival sweeps over the Church, the great revival for which we long. Certainly I do not know when that revival will come; its coming stands in the Spirit’s power. . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On Paul’s Defense Of The Gospel To Peter
That the truth of the gospel. There was no danger that Paul would be deprived of his liberty even by yielding to them; but the example would have done harm to others, and therefore he prudently inquired what was expedient. This shows . . . Continue reading →
Why (Some) Reformed People Are Such Jerks
The Oxford American Dictionary gives this informal usage of the noun jerk: A contemptibly obnoxious person § About as soon as I left my evangelical (Southern Baptist) congregation and started associating with Reformed folk, I began to hear this question. I remember . . . Continue reading →
Luther’s Rhetoric Versus Melanchthon’s
The little fellow is a godly man…his intention is not bad…but he hasn’t accomplished much by his method. I think…that my way is still the best. I speak right out and scold my opponents like schoolboys. For a knotty stump requires a . . . Continue reading →
Niceness Or Love?
Among members of the PCA, there is a huge dissatisfaction with how blogs are run today. Lack of love, harshness, unfounded accusations, and many like things are par for the course, they say. There is certainly an element of truth to this. . . . Continue reading →
On Being Critical
It Isn't Always Hating
Have you ever stared at a word on the page until it lost all context and began to move around or just seem silly? That happens to writers. Consider the word “critical.” It’s a word we use frequently and in a variety . . . Continue reading →
Machen: The Good Fight Of Faith
The Apostle Paul was a great fighter. His fighting was partly against external enemies—against hardships of all kinds. Five times he was scourged by the Jews, three times by the Romans; he suffered shipwreck four times; and was in perils of waters, . . . Continue reading →
Going Back to Egypt?
The evangelical wing of the internet is buzzing today about an apology last night by Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, and his announcement that the organization is being disbanded and will be replaced by another entity with a different mission. In . . . Continue reading →
The Social Consequences Of Subjectivism
Well, in my heart and my mind, you know, life begins when the mother thinks it begins, not when anybody else thinks it begins…. For some women, it’s before they conceive; for some women, it’s never. Even after they deliver, it’s still . . . Continue reading →
Recovering Nature
Helping Millennials to Look Beyond the Screen
Until very recently presidents and presidential candidates, even if they didn’t believe it, had to say that they were in favor of marriage as historically understood and opposed to homosexual marriage. Now, they don’t. What changed and how did that change come . . . Continue reading →
Why “Nice” Is Such An Impotent Category
The news is filled with comments made by people who knew the Boston Marathon bombers that they were “nice”, regular people. They cannot believe that the Tsarnaev brothers could be violent. This is not the first time we have heard such observations, . . . Continue reading →
Selective Skepticism
HB correspondent Dave writes with this quotation from someone else: “my parents taught me that the bible is up for interpretation, and it is not the spoken truth.” This is widely held as a truism and it is widely used as a . . . Continue reading →
Being Nice Is Not What The Christian Walk Is About
Being “nice,” of course, is not ultimately what the Christian walk is all about. But neither is it just a low-level option for those who are commanded by Scripture to “speak the truth in love.” Even the order of that commandment—truth first, . . . Continue reading →
Nice Idolatry (2)
In part 1 we looked at some comments forwarded to the HB by Dave. His correspondent wrote, “I have a personal relationship with Christ but my Christ is not an ass and He wants everyone to do what makes them happy including . . . Continue reading →
Nice Idolatry (1)
Dave forwards to the HB a comment from a friend, who shall remain anonymous: I have a personal relationship with Christ but my Christ is not an ass and He wants everyone to do what makes them happy including gays being allowed . . . Continue reading →
Sometimes “Nazis” Really Are Nazis
In the modern culture wars (Kulturkampf) the accusation is frequently made that one side or the other is guilty of “Nazi tractics” or “Nazi ideology.” This charge is made with such frequency that it is bound to lose its force. One reaction . . . Continue reading →
Uzzah, Delusion, and Good Intentions
The human capacity for self-delusion is endless. It began mysteriously with Adam’s un-coerced choice to make covenant with Satan rather than to keep the covenant of works that God had made with him. Since that time things have not improved. In the . . . Continue reading →