I. Post-GA Wrap up
Presbycast’s Brad Isbell (RE) has a post-GA wrap up podcast. Continue reading
Ethics
Homosexual Desire Is Also Sin
In 1973, in “Report 42,” a committee of the Christian Reformed Church wrote: “An important distinction that must be made is the difference between homosexuality as a condition of personal identity and homosexualism as explicit homosexual behavior.” On the basis of this . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 169: As It Was In The Days Of Noah (15): Living Among The Pagans
The chapter divisions we see in our Bibles were not present originally. Stephen Langton (c. 1150–1228), a Paris theologian and, later, Archbishop of Canterbury, is usually credited with introducing the divisions that we know. This is one place where we see the . . . Continue reading →
New HB Resource Page On LGBTQ And Revoice
In our never-ending quest to make the resources of the Heidelblog easily accessible we have created a new resource page devoted to LGBTQ issues, Revoice and so-called “Side-B” (Gay) Christianity. Here is the resource: Resources On LGBTQ And Revoice. The HB Resource Page contains . . . Continue reading →
Same-Sex Attraction Is Not A Means Of Grace Or Why We Distinguish Nature And Grace
Jeffrey Stivason has a helpful interaction with an August 2018 essay by Wesley Hill in which Hill seeks to justify the Revoice Conference, held last July (2018), and in which justifies his conclusion that he has an immutable same-sex attraction. Stivason notes that . . . Continue reading →
Gay Christians?
Introduction I have been speaking with an especially thoughtful young person recently who asked me whether it was appropriate to speak of “Gay Christians.” My first response was to ask whether it is appropriate to speak of “Murderer Christians” or “Thief Christians” . . . Continue reading →
A Scholar Talks Honestly About Academic Freedom And The Transgender Phenomenon
In the course of writing this report, I consulted a number of individuals who asked that I not thank them by name. Some feared an angry response from the more militant elements of the LGBT community; others feared an angry response from . . . Continue reading →
The Normalization Of Pedophilia Approaches
The arguments made by Milo Yiannouplos (in a recently released and quite graphic video), that pedophilia is not what you think it is, that sexual contact between men and under-age teen-age boys is not wrong but a safe way to help young . . . Continue reading →
A Well-Meant Millstone
Today, I hear Jen’s words—words meant to encourage, not discourage, to build up, not tear down, to defend the marginalized, not broker unearned power—and a thin trickle of sweat creeps down my back. If I were still in the thick of the . . . Continue reading →
SAET Interviews In Politics And Theology #10: R. Scott Clark
With regard to political action: American Christians (particularly evangelicals) must get over the microwave mentality. We need to think more in terms of camp fires and cook outs. It takes a long time to make a decent meal outdoors and it might . . . Continue reading →
Gay Christians?
Introduction Is it appropriate to speak of “Gay Christians.” Is it appropriate to speak of “Murderer Christians” or “Thief Christians” or “Idolater Christians”? When the adjective “gay” refers to homosexuals, the expression “Gay Christian” is an oxymoron. Remarkably, Millennials (18–34) may be . . . Continue reading →
The Cruelty Of Nominalism
Are Symbols Arbitrary? Recently there has been considerable controversy generated in a university classroom where the prof required students to create a sign with the word “Jesus” on it and then to step on the same. One student, a Mormon, refused and was . . . Continue reading →
The Necessity And Limits Of The Imitation Of Christ
There is no question among orthodox Christians, i.e., those who believe and obey God’s Word, who believe the catholic creeds, who have a substantial connection to the ancient church, whether Christians ought to seek to imitate Christ. The questions are how do we imitate . . . Continue reading →
Fall Conference Season 2015: Identity, Eschatology, And Authority
It is the fall conference season. Here are three gatherings about which you might want to to know. One confronts the problem of identity: do we define ourselves the way the culture would have us do it or is there a better way? The second gathers a stellar group of Reformed teachers to help us through “end times” and the third focuses on the Biblical and Reformation doctrine of “Scripture alone.” Continue reading →
Heidelberg 92: What Is The Law Of God? (2)
The law was a covenant of works, not a covenant of grace. The “commandment of life” was “the day you eat thereof you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). It was a commandment of life because, if Adam kept the commandment he would have entered into eternal life (see also Heidelberg 6, 9; Rev 22:14). The condition of the covenant was, to use the words of Christ, “do this and live” (Luke 10:28). His status before God was conditioned upon his obedience to God’s holy law. Continue reading →
Choices, Nurture, Emotion, And Sexuality
Yet conventional wisdom is that sexual orientation is not based on choice. Again, the reason is philosophical, not scientific. The theories of biological determinism, social determinism, and social constructionism apply not only to sexual orientation, but to all aspects of sexuality and . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Is God Anti-Gay?
Homosexuality is before us as a cultural, theological, spiritual, and ecclesiastical issue as never before. In recent years the President of the United States has declared that he has had a change of heart about homosexual marriage. Where, in 2008, he campaigned . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 88: God’s Holy Law (11)—The Seventh Commandment
In this episode we consider the 7th commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” Warning: since this episode discusses sexual ethics, it may not be suitable for younger listeners. In the seventh commandment the Lord asserts his authority over our sex life. What . . . Continue reading →
Hiding Behind The Cross?
“No one in California will be able to hide their prejudice behind a cross, no one!” Continue reading →
Presbyterians And Homosexuals Together: The Crisis Of Christ And Culture
The New York Times reported yesterday that a sufficient number of presbyteries of the liberal, mainline Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) have voted to approve gay marriage that church order Book of Order will, beginning in June of this year, define marriage no . . . Continue reading →