The Danger Of A Falling Church

If possible, I wish to raise an alarm without being an alarmist. The Reformed theologian, J. H. Alsted (1588-1638) said that the doctrine of justification is the article of faith by which the church stands or falls. Of course, he was only . . . Continue reading →

An Annotated Reformed Reading List (Updated)

From time to time students ask what books must they have in their libraries before they leave seminary. This list contains my suggestions. This could be much longer, but it would be less useful. Since I teach historical theology, this list is weighted with those sorts of texts. Continue reading →

My Favorite Atheist Lesbian Author: A Case Study In Providence

I first encountered Camille Paglia in 1991, just after she had published the essay, “The Joy of Presbyterian Sex.” Blame Bob Godfrey. I was pastoring a church in Kansas City and happened to be visiting Escondido and stopped by Bob’s office. He . . . Continue reading →

The Reformed Tradition On The Free Or Well-Meant Offer Of The Gospel

A commenter recently objected that there is no such thing as a Reformed tradition or history of the free or well-meant offer of the gospel. I reply: critics of the Reformed doctrine of the free or well-meant offer are entitled to their . . . Continue reading →

A Cross And The Twofold Kingdom

The cross atop Mt Soledad, in LaJolla has been in place since 1954 but it has been the subject of controversy and continuous and tortuous legal wrangling since at least 1989, when two atheists and the “Society of Separationists” sued in federal court . . . Continue reading →

Money Could Be Other Than It Is

Available research does not support the view that the Federal Reserve System has lived up to its original promise. Early in its career, it presided over both the most severe inflation and the most severe (demand-induced) deflations in post-Civil War U.S. history. . . . Continue reading →

What Is True Faith? (10) A Glorious Omission

In part 9 we considered the role of the gospel in the Spirit’s work of creating new life and granting faith. We saw that there is no tension between the direct, supernatural working of the Spirit and his use of means in . . . Continue reading →

Hyper-Calvinism, Rationalism, and Anti-Predestinarians

By etymology, “hyper-Calvinism” is that doctrine which goes “beyond” (hyper) Calvin. Often, however, it is used incorrectly by critics of predestination to describe anyone who believes in reprobation. If teaching reprobation makes one “hyper-Calvinist” then Calvin would be “hyper-Calvinist” and that’s just . . . Continue reading →