In Article VIII the Statement (version 2) says: WE AFFIRM that God’s purpose for civil government is to establish justice for His glory and the good of all people. We affirm that unjust laws harm people and that just laws reflect the . . . Continue reading →
WE AFFIRM that civil officials are God’s deacons of justice. Therefore, they must obey His commands and rule under His authority. We affirm that all human authorities, including civil officials, possess authority only as it has been delegated to them by God . . . Continue reading →
One of the most important aspects in the debate over so-called Christian Nationalism is the nature of Christ’s Lordship and Kingdom. According to Augustine, there are two cities. According to Luther (and more than a few Reformed writers) there are two kingdoms. . . . Continue reading →
On this date in 1959 the state of Nebraska executed the death sentence upon Charles Starkweather, an admitted, notorious spree killer and mass murderer. Certainly, when “Charlie” (as he was known) was captured after a shootout in Douglas, Wyoming there was little doubt and by the end of his trial it was certain that he had committed a shocking and brutal series of murders in and around what was then a sleepy college town and state capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska. The only real question that remained through the trial, which persists to this day, is whether Caril Ann Fugate, whose family Charlie murdered, accompanied him willingly during his spree, whether she cooperated in or even committed some of the murders, or whether she was a hostage (as she later claimed) and suffered from Stockholm Syndrome. Continue reading →
Finally, we come to the recently published Statement On Christian Nationalism and the Gospel (hereafter, the Statement).1 The authors of this document are as follows, according to the website: James Silberman (Communications Director at Free the States and columnist for The Federalist) . . . Continue reading →
In a recent essay, I tried to make the case from Westminster Confession 31.4 (in the American version; 31.5 in the 1648 edition) that the current transgender crisis does not fall under “cases extraordinary,” and thus, ecclesiastical assemblies should not be petitioning the . . . Continue reading →
So far we have considered what nationalism is and the end of the last vestiges of Christendom in America, which prompted the rise of so-called Christian Nationalism. Just as the end of blue laws provoked the Moral Majority movement, so too has . . . Continue reading →
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur . . . Continue reading →
Until the early twentieth century, most Christians used some distinction between nature and grace, and the sacred and the secular. In the 1970s and 80s, however, American Christian fundamentalists (e.g., Jerry Falwell) began to use the adjective “secular” disparagingly. Similarly, the use . . . Continue reading →
The term nationalism is inherently slippery. Indeed, the idea of a nation, as we think of it, is fairly new. We should not assume that there have always been sovereign nations the way that we think of them in the Modern period. . . . Continue reading →
Indeed, given Calvin’s distinction between two spheres of God’s kingdom, we need not agree with Mormons on theological questions in order to cooperate with them socially. We may even cooperate with Muslims, Hindus, and agnostics (e.g., the late Nat Hentoff 1925–2017, who became an outspoken critic of abortion on demand) who share certain basic convictions about civil life. To cooperate, we need only agree that there exists certain fixed, embedded laws in creation. Continue reading →
Understandably, for many American Christians, the fight or flight instinct has kicked in. They are made to pay taxes to support institutions—for example, public schools—that demonstrably work against their interests and seek to subvert the authority of parents in the family by . . . Continue reading →
In 2008, another blogger (Russ Reeves) made some thoughtful comments on my essay, “Christ is Lord of All But…” This post was made in response to his comments. I agree with him that it may be that we agree more than it . . . Continue reading →
This is one of those books with buzz. Many were anticipating its release and since appearing in early November, it’s been getting a lot of attention, some positive. Douglas Wilson raves, “Wolfe is to be thanked for having the courage and learning . . . Continue reading →
The question of thinking like a Christian is an important topic and one close to my heart. We discuss this very question each fall in the Historical Theology orientation course. We read and discuss a roundtable discussion published some years ago in . . . Continue reading →
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2023 Volume 12 / Issue 1 of the Lausanne Global Analysis and is published here with permission. To receive this free bimonthly publication from the Lausanne Movement, subscribe online here. § I am . . . Continue reading →
All the Episodes of the Heidelcast How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia On Twitter @Heidelcast How To Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button below Subscribe in Apple Podcast Subscribe directly via RSS New Way To Call The Heidelphone: Voice Memo On Your Phone . . . Continue reading →
We desire all people, whom the benign influence of our clemency rules, to turn to the religion which tradition from Peter to the present day declares to have been delivered to the Romans by blessed Peter the Apostle, the religion which it . . . Continue reading →
R. Scott Clark interviewed on the Babylon Bee Podcast about Christian Nationalism, Christ and Culture, Baptism, Calvinism and More Continue reading →
The two principal reasons the Heidelblog exists (and its parent organization, the Heidelberg Reformation Association) are, first, to encourage Reformed confessing Christians to recover their confession, i.e., both the confessional documents but also the broader and classic Reformed theology, piety, and practice, . . . Continue reading →