But Wolfe ties himself in knots when he tries to find ways for the Christian Prince to order civil affairs so that his subjects will – trigger warning – gain eternal life. For instance, he writes, “Christ’s mediatorial reign does extend to . . . Continue reading →
Twofold Kingdom
Lindsay Clancy And The Two Kingdoms
I believe Lindsay Clancy, if found guilty, should receive the death penalty for the murder of each of her children. I understand that capital punishment is not an option in Massachusetts. I also understand all the complexities of the very real suffering . . . Continue reading →
Eighteenth Century Virginia Presbyterians Were Politically American
In The Case for Christian Nationalism, widely considered the strongest argument for this position, Stephen Wolfe contends that the “classical Protestant position is that the civil magistrate can punish external religion—e.g., heretical teaching, false rites, blasphemy, and Sabbath-breaking—because such actions can cause . . . Continue reading →
Christian Nationalism Is A Sign Of Decline, Not Renewal
If one is hapless enough to watch television or listen to conservative or religious (or conservative religious) radio, one hears endless rhetorical prefaces that assert the decline of Christianity in the industrialized West (or any of its sub-parts). In almost every case, . . . Continue reading →
Trump, The Pope, And Christ’s Twofold Kingdom
On April 5, for Easter 2026, the current Bishop of Rome (in the Roman Catholic Church) published an “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and to the world) address which he delivered from from his balcony (the loggia) in St. Peter’s Basilica . . . Continue reading →
Jesus And Trump
Garrison Keillor used to open his monologues about the fictional town of Lake Woebegon by saying, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon” and then go on to explain how it had not actually been quiet. The way the news is . . . Continue reading →
Christian Nationalists Might Learn From Petrus Dathenus
Meanwhile, [Petrus] Dathenus led a rather checkered life. His preaching soon brought him into difficulties, even with William of Orange, the leader of the fight against Spain. The prince wanted to grant Roman Catholics freedom of worship, but Dathenus strenuously opposed such . . . Continue reading →
Rethinking the Crusades
The History Channel reminds us that on November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade. Before 1979 it was more difficult than it is today to imagine such a thing, a leader of a world religion ordering a military crusade to conquer . . . Continue reading →
Problems with the Presidential Prayer Breakfast
Let me be clear: I am not opposed to presidents, prayer, or breakfast. I am not opposed to praying presidents having breakfast.1 I am not opposed to prayer before breakfast. All these are good things. The annual presidential prayer breakfast, however, is . . . Continue reading →
Conflation Of Kingdoms: The Great Disregard Of Moral Law And The Common Good Of Man
The speaker behind the podium transformed before our eyes. His rhetorical temperature rose quickly as he opened his argument by calling a local politician “a demon.” As he did so, I could almost see Dwight Schrute pounding his fist and chanting, “Rise . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On The Spirituality Of The Kingdom Of God
My kingdom is not of this world. By these words he acknowledges that he is a king, but, so far as was necessary to prove his innocence, he clears himself of the calumny; for he declares, that there is no disagreement between . . . Continue reading →
Natural Law and Light in the Reformed Confessions
In the modern period, particularly in the twentieth century, many Reformed folk became uneasy with the traditional Reformed language concerning natural law. As one who began to enter the Reformed world circa 1980, I mostly found Reformed people to be hostile to . . . Continue reading →
On Theocracy
I have explained at great length here why those who deny our covenant theology, our hermeneutics, and our doctrine of the sacraments are not Reformed. All the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries teach paedobaptism and denounce the rejection of . . . Continue reading →
Prayers And Images: A Video That Never Should Have Been Made
On Sunday, my church’s morning worship service opened with a call to worship by an elder and sung congregational praise. Then the pastor offered a prayer of invocation, making it clear who was being worshiped and why the congregation had assembled. At . . . Continue reading →
The American Experiment
I tried not to write anything about the murder of Charlie Kirk. I did not want to add to the noise, but in one of his recent press conference appearances, Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, used the expression “The American Experiment.” . . . Continue reading →
Twenty Affirmations And Exhortations For Christian Citizens
Just as Christians are not to “grieve as others do who have no hope,” neither are we to rage as those who do not know the one true God. Continue reading →
Christian Banking?
Planet Money is an interesting and usually fair-minded (they talk to Keynesians and to free-market capitalists) account of economic theory and the global economy. Their most recent podcast was a story about a Spanish savings bank called cajas de ahorros.1 It is . . . Continue reading →
Was Paul Mean?
I was meditating on Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 3:6–12. Paul was concerned about those in the congregation who were obsessed with and confused over Jesus’ return (parousia). They had what theologians (rightly) call an “over realized eschatology.” In their anticipation of . . . Continue reading →
Fisher’s Catechism On Distinction Between The Special And General Kingdoms
James Fisher published a widely-read (and oft-reprinted) Exposition of the Shorter Catechism (1753). Ebenezer Erskine and others of the “Marrow Men”—that is, those who were the gospel-men in eighteenth-century Scotland (as opposed to the moralists of the time)—were also associated with it. . . . Continue reading →
POPLL: An Alternative To Christian Nationalism (And Theonomy, Christian Reconstruction, Theocracy, And Christendom) (Pt 10)
How Lawsuits Work I am not a lawyer nor am I practicing law in this space. What follows should not be construed as legal advice but broadly there are two kinds of court cases: civil and criminal. The latter are tried by . . . Continue reading →